By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

For the first time, health officials have reported a confirmed dengue fever case in Afghanistan.

Image/CIA

According to the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the 21-year-old patient reported with travel history to India during the incubation period was admitted to an infectious diseases hospital in Kabul for treatment.

The case was laboratory confirmed on Oct. 3.

WHO notes the incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic and hence the actual numbers of dengue cases are underreported and many cases are misclassified. One estimate indicates 390 million dengue infections per year (95% credible interval 284–528 million), of which 96 million (67–136 million) manifest clinically (with any severity of disease). Another study, of the prevalence of dengue, estimates that 3.9 billion people, in 128 countries, are at risk of infection with dengue viruses.

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