UN health officials reported update numbers on the mosquito borne viral diseases; dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika virus late last week and we find that the number of dengue fever cases, probable and confirmed, have topped 1.7 million across the Americas.
Public domain image/ E Pluribus Anthony
Brazil alone has reported 1,130,316 probable and 115,330 laboratory confirmed cases of dengue fever through April (Epi week 17). This includes 212 dengue related fatalities.
Paraguay, which say only 50,000 cases in all of 2015, has reported nearly 130,000 probable and confirmed cases. Even more dramatic, Argentina has reported 70,311 probable and 37,196 confirmed dengue cases through mid-May (Epi week 19). In all of 2015, Argentina saw only 4,000 cases all last year.
The number of chikungunya cases reported in the Americas is currently about 115,000 cases through May, with Brazil accounting for more than half the cases (64,000).
Since the first locally transmitted chikungunya cases were reported on the Caribbean island of St. Martin in Dec 2013, there has been approximately 2 million suspected or confirmed cases, including 283 fatalities.
The number of Zika virus infections, suspected and confirmed, since 2015 stands at approximately 330,000, with about 120,000 from Brazil.
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The director of the CDC Dr. Tom Frieden mentioned in a speech to the national press club that dengue antibodies produced during a dengue infection could create increased susceptibility to zika infection. Is the reverse possible? Can zika antibodies cause increased susceptibility to dengue?