In this period, over five million dengue cases and 5,000 deaths were reported worldwide, nearly 80% of them in the Americas, followed by Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, as informed by Diana Rojas, head of Dengue Team at World Health Organization (WHO).

More than 4.2 million new cases of dengue were reported in the Americas, including more than 6,700 seriously-ill cases and 2,050 deaths, a figure that exceeds previous report observed in 2019 (3.1 million).

Most reported cases in the region were Brazil (2.9 million), Peru (271,000) and Mexico (235,000).

Out of the 6,766 severe dengue cases, the highest number was reported in Colombia (1,504), Brazil (1,474) and Mexico (1,316).

Rojas also commented that local dengue transmissions have been detected in non-endemic nations, including European nations such as Italy, France and Spain.

The expert described as worrying the outbreaks in countries in conflict and fragile contexts such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia or Yemen, together with the spread of other diseases, waves of internal displacement and poor health infrastructure.

pll/lam/lpn