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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffDengue fever is caused by any one of four dengue viruses spread by mosquitoes that thrive in and near human lodgings. When a mosquito bites a person infected with a dengue virus, the virus enters the mosquito. When the infected mosquito then bites another person, the virus enters that person's bloodstream.
After you've recovered from dengue fever, you have immunity to the virus that infected you — but not to the other three dengue fever viruses. The risk of developing severe dengue fever, also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, actually increases if you're infected a second, third or fourth time.
References
- Frequently asked questions: Dengue. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Dengue/faqFacts/index.html. Accessed July 21, 2011.
- Rothman AL. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of dengue virus infections. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 21, 2011.
- Nathan MB, et al. Dengue: Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2009. Accessed July 27, 2011.
- Vaughn DW, et al. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. In: Mandell JE, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..X0001-X--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed July 27, 2011.
- Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en. Accessed July 27, 2011.
- Bell M. Viral hemorrhagic fevers. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191371208-2/0/1492/0.html#. Accessed July 27, 2011.
- Rothman AL. Prevention and treatment of dengue virus infection. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed Aug. 3, 2011.
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