Dengue fever has been reported in record numbers in 2024, and experts are concerned about certain factors contributing to an increase in cases.
What's happening?
Citing data from the World Health Organization, the Guardian observed that as of Oct. 23, 12.4 million cases of dengue fever have been reported in 2024.
That's a stark increase from 2023, when 6.5 million people were diagnosed with the disease globally. In a September paper published in the IJID Regions journal and shared by Science Direct, Dr Najmul Haider of Keele University said of the surging cases, "This is an alarming number, and the number is increasing."
The virus is spread by mosquitoes, with both the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (also known as the tiger mosquito) known carriers. The mosquitoes bite infected people and can then spread dengue to another host by biting them.
Dengue is often referred to as "breakbone fever" because of its potential to cause intense physical pain, but it can also bring a high fever, severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and rashes, among other symptoms reported by the WHO.
Why is the rise in dengue cases concerning?
The fatality rate of dengue is on the rise. While it has historically had a lower death rate than other mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria, Professor Sophie Yacoub of Oxford University's clinical research unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, said that patterns are shifting, and more people are succumbing to the disease.
"A lot of people dismissed it as another viral illness — but actually we are seeing some higher mortality now," Yacoub, the head of the dengue research group, said, per the Guardian.
"There are similar risk factors to COVID-19 — so people with obesity, or diabetes, or other comorbidities have a higher risk of getting severe dengue and higher mortality. And I think as dengue is affecting many countries that have also increasing obesity or diabetes, these two pandemics are kind of colliding."
A warmer planet is increasing the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes to further locations and expanding the window of time that they can survive.
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Extreme weather conditions — often made more frequent, stronger, or longer-lasting by higher temperatures — are an additional problem. Standing water created following flooding events, for example, can allow for increased mosquito breeding, while heat waves can make reproduction cycles more rapid. Urbanization and migration are other factors making the situation worse.
As the Guardian noted, WHO estimates four billion people are at risk of dengue and other similar illnesses, and this could rise to as many as five billion people by 2050.
What's being done about rising dengue cases?
There is no real treatment for dengue, but vaccines have delivered some success. Yacoub is investigating different antivirals to determine effective ways to combat infection, but a traditional papaya tea remedy has benefited some sufferers, even though there is no scientific evidence to support its use.
According to the Guardian, WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also delivered a strategy to combat rising cases globally, with surveillance and mosquito control among the efforts brought into action.
While this will take a coordinated global effort among healthcare professionals, scientists, and world governments, there are still things we can do to make a difference.
Reducing our personal polluting output can reduce the rate of rising temperatures. Among other ways, this can be achieved by swapping a gas-guzzling car for an electric one, investing in clean-energy technology like solar panels, or even making greater efforts to recycle household waste.
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