Governments and public health experts around the world are sounding the alarm about the record-high spread of one of the most notorious—and incurable—diseases, which about half the world is at risk of catching: dengue.
The mosquito-borne virus has a long history in warm climates but is now also emerging in regions where it had been generally unheard of—such as in Europe and parts of the U.S. By early December, there had already been more than five million dengue infections worldwide this year—a dramatic increase from some 500,000 cases in 2000—recorded across at least 80 countries and territories. More than 5,500 people have died so far in 2023, according to Save the Children.
In October, California announced its first case of locally-transmitted dengue virus. In March, dengue was found in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time in the city’s record, putting its already underfunded healthcare system under serious strain.
Meanwhile, in countries where dengue was already endemic, this year has seen the virus spread at an unprecedented scale. Amid the worst outbreak in Bangladesh’s history, dengue cases were reported in all 64 of the country’s districts, and by mid-November the disease had infected 291,832 people and killed 1,476. Peru’s health minister, who in June declared a state of emergency in most parts of the country to deal with a raging dengue outbreak, resigned the same month as infections and deaths continued to mount.
A risk assessment report published Tuesday by the Pan-American Health Organization noted that the “lack of robust dengue surveillance and management systems raises concerns about potential undetected cases or unrecorded travel movements that could contribute to unnoticed disease spread.”
There is currently no antiviral treatment for dengue, though the symptoms can usually be managed with medicine. Here’s what to know about the disease—and how to keep yourself safe.
Dengue is typically spread through infected female Aedes aegypti (Egyptian tiger) mosquitoes that thrive in stagnant water, passing from one person to another through mosquito bites. The disease can also be transmitted from pregnant women to their babies, and, in rare cases, through blood transfusions, organ transplants, or needle injuries.
