FACTS ABOUT DENGUE

Facts About Dengue

• Only female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can transmit dengue because only the female mosquito bites (or blood-feeds).

• A female mosquito may acquire dengue virus after ingesting blood from a person who has dengue

• It takes about 10-12 days (sometimes less) for the mosquito to be capable of transmitting the dengue virus to a new person

• During this time the dengue virus replicates inside the mosquito body, spreading until it reaches the mosquito’s salivary glands

• The dengue virus is then injected with the saliva into a human whenever the mosquito takes a blood meal. Therefore, only female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes older than 12 days old can transmit dengue