WHO raises the risk of a global spread of dengue fever to high

More than five million cases of dengue fever have been reported in the world, including 5,000 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today, which means that the risk of this disease, whose radius of spread is increasing, is caused by factors such as climate change.

Global warming is expanding the habitat of mosquitoes that transmit this viral infection, an arbovirus expert from the US Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Prevention recalled at a press conference. OMSDiana Rojas.

As a result, half of the world’s population, or about 4 billion people, are at risk of infection denguea disease most often transmitted by mosquitoes.

“Most people don’t develop symptoms, but those who do can suffer from high fever, headache, body aches, nausea… in many cases they recover in a week or two, but sometimes things can get worse.” worsen,” the expert recalled.

Rojas also recalled that 80% of cases in 2023 (4.1 million) were recorded in the Americas, while the next most affected regions were South and East Asia.

The American country that registered the most cases this year was Brazil (2.9 million)followed by Peru (271,000) and Mexico (235,000), while Colombia diagnosed the most severe forms of the disease (1,500, 1.35% of the total), followed by Brazil (1,474, 0.05%).

Rojas also warned that local dengue transmissions are beginning to be detected in countries previously considered non-endemic, including European countries such as Italy (82 positive in 2023), France (43) or Spain (3).

“Usually, cases of travelers from the Americas, East Asia and other endemic regions are detected in these countries, but this year some limited foci of local transmission have been observed,” he warned.

He also found outbreaks in countries in conflict and sensitive contexts such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia or Yemen, along with infections with other diseases, waves of internal displacement and poor health infrastructure, to be worrying.

The increase in risk decided by the WHO seeks to “maximize attention and response to help countries control current outbreaks and prepare them to respond to upcoming dengue season peaks,” which typically coincide with warm and humid periods.

In this sense, WHO calls on member countries to strengthen case tracking mechanismsenvironmental conditions and vector mosquito colonies, as well as updating action guides and improving the training of their health personnel in response to the disease.

For the general population, WHO recommends the use of mosquito repellents, especially during the day, as well as the elimination of areas with a high presence of mosquitoes near residential areas in communities.