How is dengue transmitted to humans?

Dengue is passed almost exclusively through the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito, mostly the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species.

The dengue virus cannot be passed straight from person to person. An uninfected mosquito turns into a vector only after it bites a human who is already carrying the virus, so the cycle is linked to that first contact. These same mosquito species are well known for being relentlessly aggressive daytime biters, with the busiest feeding activity happening early in the morning and again in the late afternoon, before dusk.