Dengue fever, also known as bone-breaking fever, is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus. Dengue is found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. There are four dengue viruses that can cause dengue fever classified as DENV. The CDC states that the composition of the virus is “a single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus, a family that includes other medically important vector-borne viruses” (CDC 2012). The Flaviviridae family includes infamous vector-borne viruses, including West Nile and Zika. The disease causes flu-like symptoms but in severe cases it can develop dengue shock syndrome (DSS) or dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). There is not yet a vaccine to prevent dengue, the most effective way to avoid contracting the virus is to avoid mosquito bites, treat the symptoms and take anti-inflammatory drugs. The symptoms of Dengue vary depending on the severity. Mild symptoms include; Severe headache, severe eye pain, joint pain, muscle or bone pain, skin rash, mild bleeding (nose or easy bruising). Symptoms of DHF include; bleeding from the mouth, gums, or nose, clammy skin, damage to the lymph and blood vessels, internal bleeding, which may lead to black vomit and stool or feces, low number of platelets in the blood, sensitive stomach, small spots of blood underneath the skin, weak pulse. DSS symptoms include; severe stomach pain, disorientation, sudden high blood pressure or rapid drop in blood pressure, heavy bleeding, regular vomiting, loss of fluid from blood vessels. Dengue fever is known to have a fever that lasts about 2-7 days with the symptoms described above. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The journey of dengue fever begins three to fifteen days after being bitten by the mosquito that carries dengue. In one to five days the infected will start to feel a headache with a sharp pain behind the eye, they will also start to feel acute fever. In five to seven days, infected people will begin to experience severe symptoms, the fever will begin to decrease and some warning signs may appear: "This marks the beginning of a 24-48 hour period in which the smallest blood vessels (capillaries ) become excessively permeable (“leaky”), allowing the fluid component to leak from the blood vessels into the peritoneum (causing ascites) and into the pleural cavity (leading to pleural effusions). This can lead to collapse of the circulatory system and possibly shock to death without warning” (CDC 2012). The following days will be the recovery period in which the infected will begin to feel normal again. However, this is not the case for patients who begin to experience DHF of DF begins to decline approximately 24 hours later, the patient will begin to experience puncture bleeding and hemorrhagic manifestations. Plasma leak is the most significant test to determine the severity of the DHF case. Signs of circulatory failure, flushed face and restlessness appear about 24-36 hours later. At this critical time, the patient must be carefully monitored to ensure that he does not go into dengue shock. Although with the right treatment and medicines patients can still recover. Dengue is a very ancient disease with traces of a dengue-like disease dating back to 922 AD in China. (Kumar 2010). Dengue became an epidemic due to increased trade and shipping. In 1818 the first Dengue epidemic was recorded with around 50,000 documented cases. Dengue became a global concernin 1827, when dengue became a pandemic disease in the Atlantic Gulf region. During World War II, dengue emerged as a pandemic in Southeast Asia, where it became a pandemic. It began to reach areas of South and Central America. (Chakraborty 2008). Dengue hemorrhagic disease appeared in the 1950s in Southeast Asia. In recent times, the distribution of dengue has increased significantly. To date, 2.5 million people are at risk of exposure to the dengue virus. Due to urbanization in tropical developing countries, modern transportation, and the lack of effective mosquito control, a dramatic geographic expansion of dengue has occurred over the past 25 years. Approximately 390 million infections occur every year. The CDC concluded that “dengue is endemic in at least 100 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, Africa and the Caribbean.” (CDC 2012). Dengue is transmitted from person to person by two species of mosquitoes, the Aedes a Egypti mosquito and the Aedes albopictus mosquito. In rare cases, dengue can spread through organ transplants or blood transfusions from an infected victim to a healthy recipient. A mosquito becomes a carrier if it bites a victim during the first three days of the infected victim's illness. It is therefore necessary for 8 to 11 days to incubate the virus before the disease can be transmitted. Subsequently the mosquito remains infected for life and can infect other individuals. Once mosquitoes have contracted the infected disease, they can transmit it to their larvae and from there mosquitoes are born ready to bite and spread. (Nedjadi, 2015). Transmission rates have increased in Asia and Africa due to the rapid urbanization of the tropics and the growth of cities, making them a perfect place for mosquitoes. Furthermore, due to careless waste disposal methods in these regions, the waste collects rainwater where mosquitoes breed. (Kumar 2010). Increased air travel from endemic to non-endemic regions adds to the increase in transmission. There is no specific cure or treatment for dengue, there are only a few ways to control the symptoms. Paracetamol can be used to relieve pain and fever. As soon as dengue is identified, hydration is extremely important to ensure that symptoms are kept under control. The patient should be observed carefully once the fever begins to subside in case he or she experiences shock. (Gibbons 2002). The vaccine industry is facing all sorts of problems while trying to find a cure for this virus. It was particularly challenging because the virus has four stereotypes and it is difficult to produce a vaccine that covers all four stereotypes. Another problem they are encountering is that they do not have a full understanding of the immunopathology of the virus, so they are having difficulty undergoing clinical trials with so little knowledge. They are making great strides, although they have finally developed a prototype that is still in the testing phase, but has gone through three so far. (Thomas 2015). Researchers are also using antibodies in animal models to test the results of these animal studies that could enable a new drug treatment for people with dengue. The Virology Journal concluded that: “Vaccines that are being developed using various approaches such as live attenuated viruses, inactivated viruses, subunit vaccines, DNA vaccines and chimeric viruses that use the yellow fever vaccine and attenuated dengue viruses as the backbone.” (Nedjadi, 2015). Although scientists are working day and night to develop a vaccine, they have not been able to develop one that can cure and prevent all four stereotypes. Here.