Dengue Outbreaks Continue in the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) confirmed as of week #12; there have been 175,372 suspected and confirmed dengue cases and 32 associated deaths reported in the Americas region during 2021.

All four dengue virus serotypes (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, and DENV 4) are currently circulating in the region of the Americas, which increases the risk of severe dengue cases.

The five countries reporting the most dengue cases are Brazil (130,013), Nicaragua (9,207), Peru (7,953), Colombia (7,247), Paraguay (6,938).

To alert international travelers of their dengue risk, the U.S.CDC issued a Level 1 Travel Alert for many parts of Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean on March 2, 2021.

Furthermore, the CDC recently confirmed five dengue cases in the continental USA, with the US Territory of Puerto Rico reporting 85 dengue cases during 2021.

Dengue is a disease caused by a virus spread through mosquito bites. Health effects from dengue include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, rash, muscle and joint pain, and minor bleeding.

Dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency, usually requiring hospitalization. In severe cases, health effects can include hemorrhage, shock, organ failure, and death says the CDC.

The first approved dengue vaccine, known as Dengvaxia, is a recombinant yellow fever-17D–dengue virus, live, attenuated, tetravalent dengue vaccine, produced by Sanofi Pasteur, and was initially licensed for use in individuals aged from 9 to 45 years during 2016.

The U.S. FDA authorized the Dengvaxia vaccine for limited use in the USA on May 1, 2019, for people with laboratory-confirmed previous dengue infection and living in endemic areas.

There are several dengue vaccine candidates in various stages of a clinical study.