By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
The total number of dengue fever cases in the Americas topped 2 million the week ending Aug 3, according to recent Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) data.
The 2,028,164 cases reported to date is higher than the annual totals reported during the most recent two years (2017-2018) and is lower than the annual totals reported during the 2015-2016 epidemic cycle.
Of the total cases, 846,342 (42%) were laboratory-confirmed and 12,268 (0.6%) were classified as severe dengue.
723 deaths were reported in the Americas.
Brazil saw the most cases with 1,748,473 and 485 deaths. Other countries reporting high number of cases include Colombia (71,736), Nicaragua (55,289), Honduras (42,346) and Mexico (39,770).
According to the World Health Organization, dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. Approximately, half of the world’s population is at risk and it affects infants, young children and adults. The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years. Up to 50-100 million infections are now estimated to occur annually in over 100 endemic countries, putting almost half of the world’s population at risk.
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