2023-07-21 14:47:47
AA / Geneva / Beyza Binnur Donmez
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that half of the world’s population is at risk of infection with the dengue virus transmitted by mosquitoes.
Raman Walayudhan, head of the WHO’s Tropical Diseases Unit, told a press briefing at the UN headquarters in Geneva that the organization had noted an eightfold increase in dengue fever cases between 2000 and 2022.
The same source revealed that approximately 100 to 400 million cases are reported annually, which threatens “to put half of the world’s population at risk of contracting the dengue virus, in approximately 129 countries”.
Walayudhan explained that cases of this virus “have gone from 500,000 cases to 4.2 million”, over the past 22 years.
However, on the other hand, Waliaudhan pointed out that the true number of infections “could be much higher”, as the organization has obtained more precise figures in recent years.
In a similar context, Waliaudhan said that dengue fever deaths are estimated to vary between 40,000 and 70,000 per year, which represents less than 1% of infection cases, in the majority of countries.
He stressed that dengue fever is a serious disease and is mainly a viral infection that is transmitted from person to person through mosquito bites, and pointed out that 80% of cases are asymptomatic (show no symptoms).
It should be noted that there is only one vaccine on the market against dengue, called “Sanofi Pasteur”, and it is authorized for use in about twenty countries.
It is necessary to receive 3 doses of this vaccine to protect people infected with dengue fever.
* Translated from Arabic by Mounir Bennour.
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