The disease dengue is spreading across the Western Hemisphere in numbers not seen since record-keeping began in 1980. Experts are warning that rising temperatures and growing cities are increasing the rate of infection.
More than 4 million cases have been reported throughout the Americas and the Caribbean so far this year, breaking a record set in 2019. Officials from the Bahamas to Brazil are warning of crowded health centers and new infections daily. Reports say there have been more than 2,000 deaths across the wide area.
Thais dos Santos is with the Pan American Health Organization, the area office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas. She said diseases like dengue, “provide us a really good sentinel of what is happening with climate change.”
A lack of good sanitation and strong health systems have added to the rise in cases. But experts say droughts and floods linked to climate change are causing greater spread of the virus. That is because stored water and heavy rains appeal to mosquitoes.
Dr. Gabriela Paz-Bailey is chief of the dengue branch for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Puerto Rico. She noted that higher temperatures also are expanding the mosquito’s habitat and helping the virus develop faster inside the mosquito. That leads to higher viral loads and a higher chance of transmission.