jamaicaobserver.com – Dengue in the Americas has reached the highest number of cases ever recorded, with more than 2.7 million cases and 1,206 deaths so far this year, according to a new epidemiological update from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The largest previous dengue epidemic was in 2015, but the number of cases registered until October this year is 13 per cent higher. Despite the increase in number of cases, the fatality rate, or proportion of deaths in dengue cases, was 26 per cent less in 2019, PAHO said in a release yesterday.
The four dengue virus serotypes are present in the Americas and co-circulation of all four was reported in Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico in 2019. According to the release, simultaneous circulation of two or more types increases the occurrence of severe cases of dengue.
Brazil, given its large population, had the highest numbers in this update, with 2,070,170 cases reported. Mexico had 213,822 cases, Nicaragua reported 157,573 cases, Colombia had 106,066, and Honduras 96,379 cases.
But the countries with the highest incidence rates, which link case numbers to population, were Belize with 1,021 cases per 100,000 population; El Salvador with 375 cases per 100,000 population; Honduras with 995.5 cases per 100,000 population, and Nicaragua, which had 2,271 cases per 100,000 population. The fifth country with highest incidence rate in the Americas is Brazil, with 711.2 cases per 100,000 population.
Given the increase in cases of dengue in several countries in the Americas, PAHO has recommended that countries strengthen their disease surveillance, as well as their surveillance and control of mosquito vectors of dengue, involving communities in prevention and control activities.
PAHO said it is also providing detailed advice on how to manage and treat cases of dengue, noting that “early recognition of warning signs at different stages of the disease is critical in order to provide necessary health care and prevent progression to severe disease”.
