Properties of the virus Mosquito-Borne Flaviviruses

Properties of the virus

Morphology: Dengue virus is a small, spherical, and envelopedvirus. It is a flavivirus having a cubic symmetry and measures 40–50 nm in diameter. It is a single-stranded RNA virus of 11 kb size. It has an icosahedral nucleocapsid and is covered by a lipid envelope. The virus is inactivated by diethyl ether and bile salts, such as sodium deoxycholate.

Viral replication: The replication cycle is similar to that ofother flaviviruses, such as yellow fever virus.

Antigenic and genomic properties: Dengue virus has fourdistinct closely related serotypes: dengue 1 (DEN-1), dengue 2 (DEN-2), dengue 3 (DEN-3), and dengue 4 (DEN-4). The speciation was done by Albert Sabbin in 1944. Each serotype is known to have several different genotypes.