Published on Jun. 26, 2024, 5:33 PM
Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory relating to an increased risk of dengue infections in the U.S. this year.
It’s part of a trend being monitored internationally, with above-average dengue infections in 43 countries and territories in the Americas.
“In the Region of the Americas, the number of dengue cases recorded during the first half of 2024 exceeded the maximum number of cases historically reported in a year, as compared to all previously recorded years,” reads a statement on the Pan American Health Organization’s website.
“As of epidemiological week (EW) 23 of 2024, 43 countries and territories in the Region of the Americas have reported 9,386,082 cases of dengue; this number is twice as high as the number of cases recorded throughout 2023, 4,617,108 cases.”
Earlier this week, the Florida Department of Health issued a separate alert confirming a locally transmitted case of dengue in Hillsborough County.
“Here in Hillsborough, we don’t see dengue virus a lot in the mosquitoes, but we do have these rare instances that happen, and we respond accordingly,” Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services director David Fiess said via Fox13 Tampa Bay.