2024-07-04 09:49:58
There has been a significant increase in the number of cases of infection with dengue fever worldwide. Now the US health authority is also warning about the dangerous virus.
Dengue fever is spreading rapidly throughout the world. The US health authority CDC is now warning the country’s doctors to pay attention to cases of infection. As the warning says, the number of global infections in 2024 will be the highest ever recorded.
On the American continent, the number of cases in 2024 is already higher than ever recorded in a single year. According to the CDC, 9.7 million cases have been reported so far, more than twice as many as last year. Over 5,000 deaths have been confirmed so far.
Health and epidemic emergency alert
Individual countries and territories have already declared public health emergencies, including Puerto Rico, Peru and Honduras. El Salvador triggered an epidemic alarm even after three children died there as a result of the virus infection and 25 had to be hospitalized.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of reported cases worldwide increased tenfold between 2000 and 2019 alone, from 500,000 to 5.2 million. The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher, as the disease can be asymptomatic and is not subject to reporting in many countries. In 2019 alone, infections were documented in 129 countries.
The number of cases is also increasing in Europe. The region around Lake Garda has recorded over 260 cases so far, and 362 cases in all of 2023. In Trieste, entire areas had to be disinfected several times to control mosquito populations.
In Germany 324 percent more cases
Cases of infection are also reported from other European regions, including Spain, Croatia and France. The French reported 1,679 cases at the end of April, compared to 131 in the same period last year.
And Germany has an influence too. The Robert Koch Institute reported at the end of May: “In the first 17 weeks of 2024, 737 cases of dengue fever were reported (…). This is 324 percent more than in the same period last year (174 cases). ” There were deaths only in Germany too. Here you can read more about it.
The virus is transmitted by the Asian tiger mosquito and the yellow fever mosquito. The pathogen originates in tropical and subtropical regions near the equator, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region and in Central and South America. However, due to climate change with high temperatures and heavy rains, the mosquito vector is increasing more and more around the world.
Dengue fever is caused by flaviviruses and causes various symptoms of the disease, which usually occur without any consequences. Only about one in four people who are infected show any symptoms; In about one to five percent of cases, severe disease and even death can occur.
Typical symptoms of illness include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, limb pain or bone pain. The latter gave rise to the traditional name “bone-breaking fever”. There is also a patchy skin rash. Complications can lead to internal bleeding and shock. If there is a severe drop in blood pressure, it can be fatal. However, severe cases often only occur after repeated infection with the virus.
The Standing Commission on Vaccination recommends that people (four years and older) who have already had the virus receive a travel vaccination with the Qdenga vaccine if they are traveling to countries with a current outbreak or to regions where the virus is endemic ( tropics, subtropics).
#infections #reported #worldwide #authorities #warn