Threat of dengue fever escalates globally

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Health

Context:

The recent surge in dengue cases globally, including in new regions has been alarming and poses significant global health challenges. The World Health Organisation (WHO) forecasts the possibility of record-level cases this year due to global warming favouring disease-transmitting mosquitoes.

Dengue fever:

Dengue fever, caused by the dengue virus (DENV), is a highly prevalent infectious disease estimated to be infecting over 400 million people each year as per the WHO.
DENV is an RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family with four serotypes (DENV-1 to 4).
Infection with one serotype provides lifelong immunity to that type, but subsequent infections with different serotypes can lead to severe, life-threatening forms of the disease.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for dengue, so prevention relies on controlling mosquito populations and raising public awareness.

Outbreaks in 2023:

Several regions in America, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Egypt’s Qena province have reported cases of Dengue fever.
Sudan in Africa, Middle-east countries and some countries in Asia including Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and India have also reported the increased number of dengue cases.
In India, states like Kerala, Odisha, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Karnataka are reporting large numbers of dengue cases.
Changing climatic conditions in Europe, such as increased heat waves, floods, and prolonged hot summers, have created favourable environments for dengue-causing mosquito species.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has warned of an increase in DENV infections across the region.

Vaccine for Dengue fever:

Recently, Takeda released the first vaccine for the disease, which has been approved in a few countries.
The vaccine has modest efficacy in preventing severe disease but still has much ground to cover in terms of preventing infection, providing uniform protection against all serotypes, and ensuring long-term immunity.

For further details on Dengue virus: https://optimizeias.com/dengue/