It's been reported that a "summer wave" of COVID has arrived, but that's not the only infectious disease making the rounds. The New York Times reports the mosquito-borne virus dengue is seeing a global surge, with an increased risk of contracting it even in our neck of the woods. In a Thursday alert to health care providers, the CDC noted that, in the first six months of 2024, twice as many dengue cases were reported in nations in the Americas than were recorded all of last year—nearly 10 million cases so far. Most of the cases in the US, not counting Puerto Rico, emerged from people who'd traveled abroad.
- Explainer: Dengue is a viral fever spread by Aedes mosquitoes, and although three-quarters of dengue cases are asymptomatic, some patients come down with a sickness similar to the flu, while others can exhibit more "dreadful" symptoms, such as a raging fever, vomiting, debilitating joint pain, organ failure, and even death, per the Times. The Hill notes other symptoms you should look for.
- Consequences: If untreated, severe dengue's fatality rate is about 15%; those who receive treatment for the symptoms see that number drop to 5%. There's no treatment for the dengue infection itself, and coming up with a vaccine for it "has been long and complicated," notes the Times.
- Where: The CDC states that the "risk of widespread transmission in the continental United States is low." However, there've been three times as many cases than at the same time last year, with cases logged in Florida, Hawaii, Arizona, Texas, and California, per the AP. The virus is common, meanwhile, in US territories such as American Samoa and Puerto Rico. The latter declared a public health emergency due to dengue in March, with almost 1,500 cases.
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