Dengue

Dengue fever is a disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito carrying one of the 4 dengue viruses. Each year, 390 million people are infected, of which 96 million people show clinical symptoms (1).
Brazilian Fans at Stadium
Brazilian Fans at Stadium

Global Dengue Burden

3.9 billion people are at risk in over 129 countries1

Did You Know?

There has been an over 8-fold increase in the number of dengue cases reported to WHO since the turn of the century(1)

People can get ill up to 4 times in a lifetime with dengue(1)

Dengue virus infection

Symptoms and Treatment

  • Dengue clinical symptoms include high fever, severe headache, with or without rash, and possible bleeding complications.
  • The fever can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can lead to dengue shock syndrome and in rare cases death.
  • Severe dengue is a rare event (0.5% of reported cases) and can occur at any infection with one of the four virus subtypes; however, the second infection with dengue is more often associated with worse illness compared to the other infections with the virus.
  • There is no specific medication for treatment of a dengue infection.

Vaccination Against Dengue

In 2015, Sanofi Pasteur introduced the first dengue vaccine which is registered in several of the most endemic countries in the world. Implementation of public dengue vaccination programs should be consistent with current approved labelling for the first available dengue vaccine in each country where it is approved, as well as by updated WHO position for the vaccine as part of integrated dengue prevention efforts that include vector control, disease management and surveillance.

References 

  1. WHO. Dengue and severe dengue Fact Sheet. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue. Reviewed May 2021. Last access: December 2021.

MAT-GLB-2105545 v1 – 12/2021
This page last update: 12-2021