Latin America and the Caribbean must expect the worst dengue season on record, with the epidemic being fueled by global warming and the El Niño climate phenomenon, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Thursday. In less than three months in 2024, health authorities in the region have already recorded more than 3.5 million cases and a thousand deaths due to this virus transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.
“This is a cause for concern because it represents three times more cases reported than on the same date in 2023, a record year with more than 4.5 million cases
,” Jarbas Barbosa underlined in a press conference, the director of PAHO, regional branch of the World Health Organization (WHO). The year 2024 will
“probably be the worst dengue season on record in America
,” he added.
Dengue is a viral disease that causes high fever with, in rare cases, progressing to a more serious form causing bleeding. Deaths are very rare - about 0.01% of all cases. Widespread in hot countries, the virus occurs mainly in urban and semi-urban areas and causes 100 to 400 million infections per year, according to the WHO. The increase in the number of infections is seen in all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, but especially in three countries in the Southern Cone: Brazil (81%), followed by Paraguay (6%) and Argentina. (3.4%), which represent 92% of all cases and 87% of deaths.