Dengue

This brief report describes the situation of dengue in the Americas up to 5 March 2009, with descriptions on each subregion and country affected and a variety of tables and figures, along with technical cooperation offered by PAHO/WHO to combat the situation and what recommendations to follow.

This four-page report provides the most up-to-date information on dengue activity in the Region of the Americas, with a data table by subregion and a chapter on each one with details and country data. (Epidemiological Alerts, Vol. 6, No. 9)

Up to 6 February 2009 (Epidemiological Weeks/ EWs 1–5), reports indicate:

• 12,372 suspected cases of dengue.
• 1,326 confirmed cases of classic dengue.
• 55 suspected cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
• 7 deaths under investigation.
• Fatality Rate: 12.7 %
• Serotypes identified: DEN 1 and 3

Departments affected: Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Tarija.  The increase in incidence is mostly concentrated in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

This brief update provides epidemiogical data for 2009 on reported dengue outbreaks in the various subregions of the Americas, by country and area within the affected country when deemed relevant, up to 3 April (EW 13) 2009. It also briefly describes the activities on which PAHO is working with the countries.

 Hasta la semana epidemiológica (SE) Nº 45 del año 2009 se reportaron 853.468 casos de dengue en la región de las Américas, incluyendo 20.832 casos de dengue hemorrágico y formas complicadas de dengue y 326 defunciones, con una tasa de letalidad regional de 1,56%. Tabla 1.

 Dengue is an endemic disease in most of the countries of the Americas and, over the past 20 years, has shown sustained cycles of outbreaks every 3 to 5 years.
Final case reports from 2008 are in the process of adjustment and review by the countries, which to date have reported 850,769 dengue cases, a figure representing a 5.5% reduction compared to the 900,754 cases reported in 2007.

 Up to Epidemiological Week (EW) Nº 40 of 2009, there has been reported 730,609 of dengue cases in the Region of the Americas, including 16.545 of Hemorragic Dengue cases and severe dengue and 289 deaths, with a letality rate of 1,75%.

Through this epidemiological alert the Pan American Health Organization is reporting the current dengue situation in the Region and recommending to its Member States to continue and reinforce the actions of prevention and control that involve all government actors and/or non gubernamental and above all, the community.

The purpose of this alert is to call upon the countries throughout the Region to undertake sustainability plans for its activities under the Integrated Management Strategies for the Dengue Prevention and Control (EGI-Dengue), involving other government and / or non-governmental actors and mainly to the community.

During the first semester of 2010, the epidemiological situation of dengue in the Region has displayed unstable behavior, with intense outbreaks of dengue in various countries of the Region. The climatological conditions have remained favorable for the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito – its transmitting agent – while certain unusual alterations have been observed in its seasonality, where, since the beginning of the year, Central American countries and Caribbean islands have been affected during periods that are considered unusual.