UPDATE: Guangdong dengue case count now 9,161
Guangdong Province in southeastern China has seen a rise in over 2,000 dengue fever cases in recent days, bringing the outbreak total to 8,273 as of Friday, according to a Xinhua report.
Guangzhou, Guangdong’s capital, saw 6,986, or nearly 85 percent of the cases, with the rest scattered across 17 cities. The number of cases is a 13-times increase over the 2013 numbers and being called the worst outbreak of the mosquito borne virus in two decades.
In addition, at least three fatalities have been implicated in the outbreak.
Related: Dengue outbreaks in South China, Malaysia elsewhere in Asia
With a 7-day national holiday on the horizon, health authorities suggest people traveling to the area take the appropriate precautions.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious from person to person. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
