Global warming: WHO warns of increase in dengue – 07/21/2023 – Health

The WHO (World Health Organization) warned this Friday (21) that cases of dengue could approach records this year, in part due to global warming that favors the mosquitoes that spread it.

Dengue rates are rising globally, with cases reported since 2000 rising eightfold to 4.2 million in 2022, the WHO said.

The disease was found in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time, according to a health ministry report in March, while Europe reported an increase in cases and Peru declared a state of emergency in most regions.

In January, the WHO warned that dengue is the world’s most widespread tropical disease and poses a “pandemic threat”.

About half of the world’s population is now at risk, said Dr. Raman Velayudhan, an expert at the WHO’s Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

Cases reported to the WHO reached an all-time high in 2019, with 5.2 million cases in 129 countries, Velayudhan said via a video call. This year, the world is on track for “more than 4 million” cases, depending mainly on the monsoon season in Asia.

About 3 million cases have now been reported in the Americas, he said, adding that there was concern about spread to Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru.

Argentina, which has faced one of its worst dengue outbreaks in recent years, is sterilizing mosquitoes using radiation that alters their DNA before releasing them into the wild.

“The American continent certainly shows that it is bad and we hope that the Asian region manages to control it”, stated Velayudhan.

The WHO says reported cases of the disease, which causes fever and muscle aches, represent just a fraction of the total number of global infections, as most cases are asymptomatic. The disease is fatal in less than 1% of people.

Warmer weather is thought to help mosquitoes multiply faster and allow the virus to expand inside their bodies. Velayudhan cited increased movement of goods and people and urbanization and problems associated with sanitation as other factors behind the increase.