As cases of the virus spread by mosquitoes reach record highs in other regions of the world, U.S. health officials are alerting the public to an elevated risk of contracting dengue fever.
Here is some of what Kelly Hays reported on the virus for Fox 4 KDFW:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued an advisory to doctors and the public about the “increased risk of dengue virus (DENV) infections in the United States in 2024.”
Dengue virus is a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
“Global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this calendar year; many countries are reporting higher-than-usual dengue case numbers,” the CDC said.
“In 2024, countries in the Americas have reported a record-breaking number of dengue cases, exceeding the highest number ever recorded in a single year,” the agency added.
As of June 24, more than 9.7 million dengue cases had been reported in the Americas, which is twice as many as what was reported in all of 2023 at 4.6 million cases.
