Dengue fever and climate change

Abstract

Dengue fever is a viral, tropical, and subtropical mosquito-borne disease. In recent history, transmission has increased drastically with incidence increasing 30-fold over the past 50 years. Today, an estimated 50-100 million infections occur annually and dengue fever is now ranked as the most important vector-borne viral disease in the world. Once localized to a few areas in the tropics, dengue fever is now endemic in over 100 countries. Population growth, unplanned and uncontrolled urbanization, and increased travel paired with ineffective vector control, disease surveillance, and inadequate public health infrastructure have been cited as drivers in the recent escalation of cases.