Abstract
The earliest known reports of dengue fever, a mosquitoborne
disease, are from China in 992 AD. During the 18th
and 19th centuries, both the slave trade and increases in
shipping and commercial trade saw the disease spread
throughout the world via sailing ships. This spread was
largely due to the water supplies stored on board ships,
which provided an effective means of travel for the virus
and vector that cause dengue fever.
