In three months, 3.5 million cases of dengue were detected in Latin America. Should we be worried in Portugal?

The dengue epidemic in Latin America reached alarming numbers in 2024, with a notable increase in cases and deaths compared to the previous year, reported the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). But should we worry in Portugal?

In Latin America, the growing increase in cases is worrying, as stated by the director of PAHO (regional office of the World Health Organization in the Americas). According to Jarbas Barbosa, the region recorded 3.5 million cases of dengue from January to March, a number three times higher than the cases reported in the same period last year, and also more than a thousand deaths.

The year 2024 “will probably be the worst dengue season ever recorded in America”, he added.

But what about in Portugal?

Until the beginning of February, six cases of dengue fever had been confirmed in Portugal. Health experts say there is no risk of transmission in the country, but warn that special care should be taken when traveling to Latin American countries, such as Brazil, for example.

Especially because the six cases registered in the national territory were all imported, from people who were infected in other countries. Between 2015 and 2023, 136 cases were registered in the country, reports the DGS. But the number of infections is growing in Portugal too.

The dengue virus is transmitted to people when they are bitten by dengue-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

According to PAHO experts, the increase in dengue cases is related to rising temperatures, the urbanization of cities, droughts and floods linked to climate change, poor sanitation and the lack of robust health systems.