The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed alarm over the high number of cases of dengue fever. The number of infections has been rising for five years, but the situation on the American continents has been particularly worrying since the beginning of 2024, the Geneva-based organization said. Between January and April, more than seven million cases were reported there, significantly more than the 4.5 million cases in the whole of 2023.
Dengue is a viral disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical climates and can be life-threatening. It can be transmitted by the Asian tiger mosquito, which is now also partially present in Europe occurs.
WHO fears high number of unreported cases
In total, there were cases of dengue in 90 countries from the beginning of January to the end of April, the WHO said. 7.6 million were reported to the WHO, 3.4 million of which were confirmed. In more than 16,000 cases, people became seriously ill and 3,000 died. However, many countries do not have the capacity to comprehensively monitor such diseases. It can therefore be assumed that the actual number of cases is much higher. Containment is important because otherwise the disease could spread to countries where it has previously hardly occurred.
Many people show no symptoms or only a low fever after being infected. In severe cases, however, severe bleeding and organ damage can occur. “Given the current magnitude of dengue outbreaks, the potential risk of further international spread and the complexity of factors affecting transmission, the overall risk at the global level remains high,” the WHO said. Dengue is a global threat to public health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed alarm over the high number of cases of dengue fever. The number of infections has been rising for five years, but the situation on the American continents has been particularly worrying since the beginning of 2024, the Geneva-based organization said. Between January and April, more than seven million cases were reported there, significantly more than the 4.5 million cases in the whole of 2023.
Dengue is a viral disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical climates and can be life-threatening. It can be transmitted by the Asian tiger mosquito, which is now also partially present in Europe occurs.