Dengue fever is caused by any one of the four dengue viruses that belong to the Flaviviridae family. There are 4 antigenically different serotypes of the virus that can be transmitted to humans by an infected aedes mosquito.
After one recovers from dengue, they become immune to that paricluar virus only and are still at a risk of catching the other three viruses. The risk of developing severe dengue fever, also called as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF), actually increases if the disease relapses. So it is imperative to have a deeper understanding of the virus and how one can prevent themselves from being infected.
Dengue Virus
Dengue virus or DENV is a single-stranded RNA positive strand virus. Dengue fever can be caused by any one of the four serotypes – DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, DENV 4. These 4 different strands of the virus are called serotypes because each one of them has dfiferent interactions with the antibodies in the human blood serum.
All the 4 serotypes circulate in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. India has a prime environment for these viruses to grow and develop.
How is the dengue virus transmitted to humans?
The dengue virus is a microscopic structure that can only replicate inside a host organism. The dengue virus uses the female Aedes mosquito as its host. Once this mosquito bites a person infected with the virus, it enters the mosquito’s blood stream. The mosquito can then spread the virus to a healthy person by biting them. Once a mosquito is infected with the virus, it can spread the virus to humans for the entirety of its lifetime, a period of 3-4 weeks.
How to protect yourself against the dengue virus?
Because there are no vaccines or antiviral drugs available against dengue, the sole preventive measure is to limit any point of contact with the Aedes mosquito vectors. One of the ways of doing this is by eliminating the mosquito breeding grounds around you.
Are you aware of where dengue mosquitoes breed? Know more about the dengue mosquito breeding places here.
Be on your guard and protect yourself against mosquito bites, both indoors and outdoors. For outdoor protection, the easiest way to safeguard yourself and your family is to apply 4 dots of the Goodknight Fabric Roll-On on to your clothes.
For indoor protection, use 2x power of Goodknight Activ+ System. One can choose between the Normal and Activ modes, depending on the number of mosquitoes. Use it regularly during the day as the Aedes mosquito is active during that time.
Let’s put our best foot forward in the fight against dengue.
