Related topics: mosquitoes

Mathematical epidemiology: How to model a pandemic

Disease has afflicted humans ever since there have been human. Malaria and tuberculosis are thought to have ravaged Ancient Egypt more than 5,000 years ago. From AD 541 to 542 the global pandemic known as "the Plague of Justinian" ...

Paper-based test can quickly diagnose Ebola in remote areas

When a fever strikes in a developing area, the immediate concern may be: Is it the common flu or something much worse that requires quarantine? To facilitate diagnosis in remote, low-resource settings, researchers have developed ...

GMO mosquito plan sparks outcry in Florida

A British company's plan to unleash hordes of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida to reduce the threat of dengue fever and other diseases has sparked an outcry from fearful residents.

Dengue-resistant mosquitoes to be released next year

(PhysOrg.com) -- Every year, dengue fever infects up to 100 million people and kills more than 20,000 of them. In an effort to reduce these numbers, scientists have infected mosquitoes with bacteria that makes them less able ...

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Dengue fever

Dengue fever (pronounced UK: /ˈdɛŋɡeɪ/, US: /ˈdɛŋɡiː/) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are acute febrile diseases, found in the tropics, and caused by four closely related virus serotypes of the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae. It is also known as breakbone fever. The geographical spread includes northern Australia, northern Argentina, and the entire Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mexico, Suriname, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, Barbados, Trinidad and Samoa. Unlike malaria, dengue is just as prevalent in the urban districts of its range as in rural areas. Each serotype is sufficiently different that there is no cross-protection and epidemics caused by multiple serotypes (hyperendemicity) can occur. Dengue is transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti or more rarely the Aedes albopictus mosquito, which feed during the day.

The WHO says some 2.5 billion people, two fifths of the world's population, are now at risk from dengue and estimates that there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year. The disease is now epidemic in more than 100 countries.

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