In the Americas, surging dengue fever linked to climate change
By the Climate Centre
Dengue fever is surging throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with a more than 300 per cent increase in cases last year compared to the average of the last five years, the Pan American Health Organization said in its most recent update last week.
Nearly 13 million cases were reported in total, a new record, while PAHO’s Central America and Mexico sub-region saw nearly a 200 per cent increase in 2024 over the five-year average.
Dengue has been a major threat to public health in Latin America for decades, with epidemics occurring cyclically every three to five years, and the virus affects millions of people every year, the IFRC reported late last month, “but never more than now”.
Climate impacts including historically severe heatwaves and storms such as Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 that create favourable conditions for mosquitoes to breed in are also “changing the habits of thousands of Central American families living in conditions of risk and vulnerability,” the IFRC adds.
Growing poverty and inequality, coupled with inadequate water and sanitation, mean people the lack the means to store what little water they have safely.
“This and other practices, such as poor solid-waste management, can facilitate the creation of mosquito breeding sites in items such as uncovered water containers, tires, flowerpots, piles and gutters.“
People lack the means to store what water they have safely
In 2023 and 2024, Red Cross teams implemented multiple dengue operations in Central America with support from the Disaster Response Emergency Fund, reaching 182,000 people in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and (photo) Panama with response and prevention.
The main activities include awareness raising and the elimination of mosquito breeding sites, larvicide, fumigation, cleaning campaigns and home visits.
The response also includes safe water containers and filters, household cleaning kits, repellent and mosquito nets for particularly at-risk groups such as pregnant women, children under five, the elderly, and people with disabilities and/or reduced mobility.
In several locations, local health workers are also being trained in the clinical management of dengue patients, especially in areas where health infrastructure is limited.
Anecdotal evidence from Panama, for example, now suggests there has been a reduction in dengue cases in recent weeks linked to the efforts of the government, the Panamanian Red Cross, other agencies and communities themselves.
Climate-sensitive infectious diseases are projected to increase
In its brief published last year on anticipatory action for climate-sensitive infectious disease in Latin America, the Climate Centre identified as “highly concerning”: Chagas, chikungunya, cholera, dengue, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, onchocerciasis, plague, schistosomiasis, yellow fever, and Zika.
The brief said some 500 million people in the Americas are at risk from dengue, with malaria, yellow fever and leishmaniasis the region’s most significant vectorborne diseases; 80 per cent of interviewees taking part in the study cited dengue and malaria as their top priorities.
“These findings underscore the urgency [of] targeted interventions and strategic planning to address these prevalent health challenges,” the Climate Centre brief concluded.
Climate change affects the epidemiology of climate-sensitive infectious diseases in Central and South America, the IPCC’s sixth assessment of the global climate found, through the expansion of the damp, warm environments that favour mosquito breeding.
“In coming decades, endemic and emerging climate-sensitive infectious diseases [such as dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika] are projected to increase (medium confidence),” the IPCC adds.
The Panama Red Cross shares key messages with children on the prevention of dengue in Chiriqui province last year. In August, the Panamanian health ministry formally asked the National Society to assist in a comprehensive response within the national dengue plan; an IFRC-DREF grant worth more than 400,000 Swiss francs was issued in the same month. (Photo: Panama Red Cross via IFRC)