Dengue cases in the Americas increased sharply in the first three months of this year, reaching a number three times greater than that recorded in the same period last year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported this Thursday. .
Genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, part of the “Aedes do Bem” project, whose objective is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever, in Campinas (SP) 02/23/2024 REUTERS/Carla Carniel
Photo: Reuters
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are the countries most affected by dengue, in what PAHO officials described at a press conference as probably the worst season yet seen in the Americas for the mosquito-borne disease.
PAHO, which is part of the United Nations (UN), confirmed around 3.5 million cases of dengue and more than 1,000 deaths this year through March in the Americas, which stretch from Canada to the extreme south of Chile and include the Caribbean.
About 4 billion people, or roughly half the world’s population, live in areas at risk of contracting dengue fever, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms of dengue fever include fever, headaches, vomiting, rashes, as well as muscle and joint pain. In some cases, it can cause a more serious hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding that can lead to death.
Most dengue cases are seen between February and May, the months of late summer and early autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
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