The American continent faces the largest dengue epidemic since regional records began in 1980, with 12.6 million documented cases, almost three times more than in 2023, reported this Tuesday with concern the Pan American Health Organization (OPS).
The regional agency specified that the serious cases have exceeded 21,000 and deaths have exceeded 7,700.
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico concentrate 90% of cases and 88% of deaths, with Brazil in the lead.
The PAHO indicated that dengue represents a higher than normal risk for childrens, citing the example of Guatemala, where 70% of dengue deaths have been children.
The director of the organization, Jarbas Barbosa, specified that the Children under 15 years old constitute more than a third of dengue cases in Costa Rica, Mexico and Paraguay.
Climatic events favor the proliferation of mosquitoes
At a press conference. Barbosa said that the increase in dengue is related to the weather events that favor the proliferation of mosquitoes, as well as the unplanned urbanizationthe accumulation of water by people and poor waste management. These factors generate breeding sites for the vector, he pointed out.
Despite the progression of the disease, Latin America and the Caribbean is not defenseless against dengue, said Barbosa, alluding to PAHO’s Integrated Management Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Arboviral Diseases, a key effort to keep serious and fatal cases relatively low through better patient management.
Brazil, Argentina and Peru have already introduced vaccines against dengue and Honduras will do so in 2025. “But the current vaccine will not stop the spread of the virus in the short or medium term and does not provide immediate relief during an outbreak,” Barbosa warned, calling on health authorities in the region to implement prevention measures effective to stop the disease, some of them as simple as using repellents to avoid mosquito bites.
The Oropouche virus spreads to more countries
Barbosa also spoke about Oropouche and avian flu, two diseases whose cases are increasing in Latin America.
PAHO has received this year 11,600 notifications of Oropouche casesa virus transmitted by infected midges and some species of mosquitoes.
The Oropuche patients have reported in twelve countries and territories of the region, especially in Brazil.
Barbosa stressed that although the outbreak of this disease is on a much smaller scale than that of dengue, “it requires our attention due to its increasing geographic expansion” outside the Amazon Basin, including areas with no prior history of this disease.
The possibility of mother-to-child transmission, including fetal deaths and congenital anomalies, is currently being investigated.
“Countries must strengthen your surveillance and continue sharing information. We must work cross-border to monitor new cases and support health systems to respond,” Barbosa stated.
It is key to understand the evolution of avian flu
Regarding the H5N1 virus, cause of avian flu, the head of PAHO pointed out that the number of cases in humans is moderate, with a limited impact on public health.
In 2024, there have been reports 58 human cases in the United States and one in Canadaa low number but much higher than the total of three cases documented in the previous two years for the entire continent.
H5N1 is a virus found commonly in birdsHowever, it is infecting other species such as dairy cattle in the United States.
In total, 19 American countries have reported cases of H5N1 in animals this year and two of those countries have confirmed human cases.
“Surveillance is key to tracking the virus and understand its evolution,” said Barbosa.
Strengthen cooperation
In this sense, the director of PAHO urged to strengthen cooperation between sectors human, animal and environmental health to allow early detection and timely interventions in animals.
Collaboration between countries is crucial to face the challenges posed by the three diseases, Barbosa insisted, arguing that when countries “share information, coordinate and support responses to diseases, lives are saved.”
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