Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness. There are four different viruses that can cause dengue fever, all of which spread by a certain type of mosquito.
Dengue fever can vary from mild to severe; the more severe forms include dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Patients who develop the more serious forms of dengue fever usually need to be hospitalized.
There are currently no vaccines for dengue fever. The best way to prevent the disease is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes altogether. Although there is no certain treatment for dengue, it can be treated as long as it is caught before developing into dengue shock syndrome or dengue hemorrhagic fever.
A study published in Nature (April 2013 issue) showed that there are approximately 390 million people worldwide infected with the dengue virus each year, over three times as many as the World Health Organization's estimate of up to 100 million.