NBC News This year, the incidence of dengue fever globally has been the highest on record, as nations report increasingly hot temperatures — ideal for mosquitoes that spread dengue to hatch.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory Tuesday alerting authorities, health care providers and the public of the increased risk of dengue fever infections in the United States.
The alert comes as an unexpectedly higher number of dengue fever cases have been reported across the nation, according to the CDC.
A total of 2,241 cases have been reported so far this year in the U.S., including 1,498 cases in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where a public health emergency was declared in March after cases exceeded historical figures.
The CDC reported 3,036 dengue cases last year in the U.S. and its territories.
This year, the incidence of dengue fever globally has been the highest on record, especially in Latin American countries, where more than 9.7 million dengue cases have been reported. That’s twice as many as in all of 2023 (4.6 million cases), according to the CDC.
Dengue fever infections have skyrocketed as many nations have reported increasingly hot temperatures, which create ideal conditions for the mosquitoes that spread dengue to hatch en masse and carry higher amounts of the virus.