Mosquito-borne dengue cases surge in Americas
Dengue cases in the Americas have spiked in what could be the worst season to date for the mosquito-borne illness, the Pan American Health Organization said Thursday.
PAHO, part of the United Nations, confirmed some 3.5 million cases of dengue and more than 1,000 deaths this year through March, three times as many as last year. Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are the countries most affected.
Dengue fever is a viral infection found in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
While most infections show no symptoms or cause only mild illness, dengue fever can be severe or fatal, according to the WHO. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fewer than 1% of dengue patients died from 2010 to 2018. However, the mortality rate can be as high as 13% in untreated patients.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, symptoms include a sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands and a rash that appears three to four days after the fever starts.
A vaccine is available, according to the CDC. It is recommended for children ages 9 through 16, but only when they have been previously infected with dengue and are living in areas where dengue is common.
In Puerto Rico, island officials have declared dengue fever an epidemic. At least 549 cases have been reported so far and more than 340 people have been hospitalized, according to the island’s health department. It’s a 140% increase from the same period last year.
Puerto Rico Health Secretary Carlos Mellado López said he has been monitoring the outbreaks.
“The increase in dengue cases requires that all components of society join forces in order to prevent the contagion and spread of this virus, which is why we call for prevention,” he wrote in Spanish on X
The CDC says travelers might be at increased risk for dengue fever in these countries, which are reporting higherthan-usual cases: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Barts, St. Martin and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Travelers to areas of risk should protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites.
Rio de Janeiro declared a public health emergency in February, just before Carnival, amid a surge of dengue fever in Brazil.
In the first few weeks of 2024, Rio documented more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever, nearly half of the total cases reported in the entirety of 2023, which amounted to 23,000, according to officials from the health ministry.
Peru and Florida also dealt with dengue fever in 2023, as did Jamaica, where health officials reported in November that more than 3,100 people were infected and nine people had died, according to the Guardian. Contributing: Reuters
Chad Murphy is a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter; Ahjané Forbes is a USA TODAY reporter.