According to WHO, the number of dengue cases worldwide has increased significantly over the past five years, with more than 7.6 million cases reported so far in 2024, of which 16,000 are severely ill and more than 3,000 have died. WHO warns that many dengue-endemic countries have inadequate surveillance and reporting systems.
To enhance global tracking, WHO has launched a new dashboard. Data are now available for 103 countries. This year, local cases have been reported in all regions except Europe.
In Southeast Asia, Indonesia reported a sharp increase in cases, while Bangladesh, Nepal, and Thailand reported more cases than at the same time in 2023. In the Western Pacific, Malaysia and Vietnam are the most affected. Thirteen countries in Africa continue to be affected, and outbreaks of dengue fever continue to be reported in fragile conflict zones in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Several factors, including changes in circulating serotypes and climate change, have contributed to the surge in dengue fever, “at least five countries (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand) are currently experiencing monsoon seasons, creating favorable conditions for the breeding and survival of the Aedes mosquito,” the WHO noted.
2024.06.07