Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. It is an illness that affects infants, young children, and adults, with symptoms ranging from mild fever to incapacitating high fever, with Severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. The illness can evolve to severe Dengue, characterized by shock, respiratory distress, severe bleeding, and/or serious organ impairment. The disease has a seasonal pattern: most cases in the southern hemisphere occur in the first half of the year, and most cases in the northern hemisphere in the second half. This pattern corresponds to the warmer, rainy months.

In the Americas, Aedes aegypti is the mosquito vector that is the main source of dengue transmission.
 

Key facts

• Approximately 500 million people in the Americas are today at risk of dengue.
• Dengue incidence has increased in the Americas over the past four decades, from 1.5 million cumulative cases  in the 1980s to 16,2 million in the decade 2010-2019.
• 2013 was an epidemic year in the Americas, with 2 million cases and an incidence of 430,8 per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 37,692 severe cases and 1,280 deaths in the hemisphere. In 2019, more than 3,1 million cases were registered, 28,000 severe and, 1,534 deaths
• The four dengue serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4) circulate throughout the Americas, and in some countries simultaneously.
• Following infection with one serotype, subsequent infection with a different serotype increases a person’s risk of severe dengue and death.
• Ae. aegypti is the vector mosquito for dengue  and is widely distributed in the Americas. Only Canada and continental Chile are free from dengue and its vector. Uruguay has no dengue cases, but it does have Ae. aegypti.

Fact sheet

About Dengue…

• It is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of the four serotypes of dengue virus.
• It is a febrile illness that affects infants, children and adults. The infection may be asymptomatic, or it may present with symptoms ranging from a moderate fever to a disabling high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rashes.The disease can evolve into severe dengue, characterized by shock, shortness of breath, severe bleeding and / or complications in the organs.
• There is no a specific medicine to treat dengue.
• The disease has a pattern according to the seasons: the majority of cases in the southern hemisphere occur in the first part of the year, and the majority of cases in the northern hemisphere occur in the second half.
• Dengue prevention and control must be intersectoral and involve the family and the community. 

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