Dengue

Dengue is a vector-borne viral infection caused by four distinct serotypes of the dengue virus and transmitted primarily by female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, posing a severe recurrent public health challenge across India.

• It highlights structural vulnerabilities in urban local governance, particularly in municipal solid waste management, drainage, and vector control implementation.
• It demonstrates the fiscal burden of seasonal epidemic outbreaks on public health infrastructure and high out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure for households.
• It serves as a benchmark for evaluating biotechnology applications in disease control, including gene-editing techniques, Wolbachia-mediated mosquito control, and indigenous vaccine development.

UPSC frames Dengue primarily through the lens of institutional public health delivery in GS Paper II and technological solutions in GS Paper III. Questions often test a candidate's ability to link seasonal disease surges to rapid unplanned urbanization, climate change, and municipal governance failures. Candidates are expected to evaluate integrated vector management frameworks alongside advanced biotechnological interventions for epidemic prevention.

• Social Sector/Services: health, education, human resources GS2

• COVID-19
• Malaria
• Monkeypox
• Nipah Virus
• Zika Virus