Dengue Fever: Epidemiology
Dengue fever is the most significant mosquito borne disease in terms of its impact on public health and its high potential for epidemic outbreaks. Although dengue fever is not always fatal, it is a severely debilitating disease with no effective cure. Is is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito vector which is endemic in many tropical countries. Globally approximately 2.5 billion people, are at risk of contracting dengue fever, with 6% going on to contract more serious forms of dengue: dengue haemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome. Of those infected with the severe forms of the disease, 2.5% may die (See the WHO factsheet).
Since the 1970s the virus has spread dramatically from only nine countries experiencing epidemics to more than one hundred today, with many of these countries having no prior history of the disease. Globally, 75% of the burden of dengue fever is concentrated in South-East Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Western Pacific Region, however it is found in most tropical areas. The dengue vector is also found in 28 states of the USA therefore much of the USA is at risk of dengue epidemics. The disease is primarily concentrated in urban areas as the vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is a predominantly urban species. Consequently, it is not a ‘disease of poverty’, but can affect countries at every level of the socio-economic spectrum. With the progression of climate change and the globalisation of travel and trade it is predicted that dengue fever may spread further outside the current tropical zones due to the potential extension in the habitat of its vector.
Due to the speed of its spread, its increasingly serious complications, and the overwhelming burden of illness and death it causes, many consider dengue the world’s most important insect-transmitted viral disease.
Interactive Maps of Dengue Fever Epidemiology:
