Dengue fever: with a record 12.4m cases in 2024 so far, what is driving the world’s largest outbreak?
Cases of ‘bonebreak fever’ are on the rise, mostly in Latin America, Africa and south-east Asia. But incidences in Europe and the US are also being recorded – with an estimated 4 billion people at risk worldwide.
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The world faces a combination of factors including the climate crisis, increased migration and urbanisation, says Prof Sophie Yacoub, head of the dengue research group at Oxford University’s clinical research unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The mosquito species that tends to carry dengue is Aedes aegypti, particularly in south-east Asia. But a second type can also spread the virus: Aedes albopictus – the tiger mosquito. It can survive in a greater range of temperatures, and has established itself in new areas. It is well adapted to urban settings and can breed in a tiny amount of standing water.
“That is what is causing local transmission in Europe, for example, and it is also pushing up into China and into the southern states of America,” says Yacoub.
Changes in climate not only help the mosquitoes to survive in new areas, but may cause extreme weather events such as flooding, creating new breeding grounds. Heatwaves can speed up reproduction cycles.
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