Dengue fever: More than 1 million cases reported in the Americas, Most in Brazil and Paraguay

April 18, 2020

Headlines, Latin America and the Caribbean

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During the first 15 weeks of 2020, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has reported 1,126,481 total dengue fever cases in the countries of the Americas. About one-third of these cases (365,699) are laboratory confirmed.

This total is actually higher than the same period in 2019 (939,000). 2020 was a record dengue year in the Western Hemisphere with more than 3 million cases reported.

Countries reporting the most cases include Brazil (685,063), Paraguay (223,751), Bolivia (76,507) and Colombia (42,830).

The total dengue-related deaths reported through April 11 is 321, with Brazil and Paraguay accounting for more than seven out 10 fatalities with 181 and 55 deaths reported, respectively.

Paraguay has seen a massive increase in dengue in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 when the country reported 2528 total cases. On March 27, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Paraguay, Dr. Julio Mazzoleni announced the Dengue epidemic in the country was officially over.

Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. It causes severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causes a potentially lethal complication. The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years globally.