Roughly half the world’s population lives in areas vulnerable to dengue fever, a potentially life-threatening viral infection transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes. There is no treatment, and only people who have already had dengue fever are eligible for the vaccine. In this expert alert, Stacey Rizza, M.D., an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, shares important information to know about dengue.

The global incidence of dengue fever is rising, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).