Infectious diseases are dynamic and can be expected to continue to change in the future. Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is caused by a virus carried from one human to another by a mosquito, usually Aedes aegypti. A first infection with a dengue virus typically causes fever and a flu-like illness. In contrast to many infections that are followed by lifelong immunity to that disease, infection with one type of dengue virus primes a person for more severe illness if infected in the future with a different strain of dengue virus. Dengue fever outbreaks probably first occurred in the Americas centuries ago.
Dengue sickens local populations and spills over into visitors to the region.
If a mosquito competent to transmit dengue virus takes a blood meal from a human infected with dengue virus, it can spread the infection to other humans. Aedes aegypti, the most important mosquito vector for dengue, now infests large parts of urban and rural Latin America and the Caribbean. The habits and habitats of Aedes aegypti make it well suited to sustain dengue fever outbreaks. It is highly domesticated, breeding in and around houses. It lays eggs in flowerpots, discarded plastic containers, used automobile tires, buckets, and any trash items that collect water.