Question

How does one acquire dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)? Explain why the presence or absence of multiple dengue serotypes can influence the occurrence of DHF? What if a new serotype is introduced to an area of established dengue transmission?

Answer 1

The cause of DHF is dengue virus. It is a common mosquito borne illness. It occurs when an individual is bitten by a mosquito or exposed to infected blood by dengue virus. A serotype denotes a different variant of a virus which is markedly different from another microbe of same virus. Co-infections with multiple serotypes raises the severity of disease as it produces implications for treatment. If a new serotype is introduced it will not match with the previous ones detected resulting in delay of treatment with other associated complications.