drrich2
Contributor
Hi:
The American Medical Association sends out a near daily 'Morning Rounds' e-mail digest with various news summaries and links pertinent to the medical community. Here I'm quoting a section from today's e-mail that might be of interest to some of you:
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"Record number of dengue cases identified in Western Hemisphere
The AP (12/10, Coto) reports the WHO’s Pan American Health Organization said Tuesday that “dengue fever is sweeping across the Caribbean and the Americas, with a record 12.6 million suspected cases of the mosquito-transmitted virus reported this year, nearly triple the number from last year.” The organization also said that over “7,700 deaths have been reported in the Caribbean and the Americas so far in 2024, a more than 200% increase, compared to 2,467 deaths in 2023.”"
I almost let it pass, and granted 'the Americas' includes South America where we don't do as much diving, but I still think a nearly triple suspected case rate in 2024 vs. 2023 is a notable enough increase (and over 200% jump in deaths).
If this trend continues, it's worth making a mental note of.
In terms of vaccines against dengue, the U.S. FDA only approved one so far - Dengvaxia. Here's a CDC page with info. on it. It's noted to be available in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, this blurb from that page:
"Since 2022, Dengvaxia has been available for use in children and adolescents 9–16 years old who have laboratory-confirmed previous dengue virus infection and are living in an area where dengue is endemic. In the U.S, dengue is considered endemic in U.S. territories of American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and freely associated states, including the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau."
seems to suggest to me it's for people who are lab-confirmed to've already had it. So I take it this isn't one of those vaccines you take in advance so you never catch it to begin with, or have a mild first case if you do?
Be careful out there.
The American Medical Association sends out a near daily 'Morning Rounds' e-mail digest with various news summaries and links pertinent to the medical community. Here I'm quoting a section from today's e-mail that might be of interest to some of you:
-----------
"Record number of dengue cases identified in Western Hemisphere
The AP (12/10, Coto) reports the WHO’s Pan American Health Organization said Tuesday that “dengue fever is sweeping across the Caribbean and the Americas, with a record 12.6 million suspected cases of the mosquito-transmitted virus reported this year, nearly triple the number from last year.” The organization also said that over “7,700 deaths have been reported in the Caribbean and the Americas so far in 2024, a more than 200% increase, compared to 2,467 deaths in 2023.”"
I almost let it pass, and granted 'the Americas' includes South America where we don't do as much diving, but I still think a nearly triple suspected case rate in 2024 vs. 2023 is a notable enough increase (and over 200% jump in deaths).
If this trend continues, it's worth making a mental note of.
In terms of vaccines against dengue, the U.S. FDA only approved one so far - Dengvaxia. Here's a CDC page with info. on it. It's noted to be available in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, this blurb from that page:
"Since 2022, Dengvaxia has been available for use in children and adolescents 9–16 years old who have laboratory-confirmed previous dengue virus infection and are living in an area where dengue is endemic. In the U.S, dengue is considered endemic in U.S. territories of American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and freely associated states, including the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau."
seems to suggest to me it's for people who are lab-confirmed to've already had it. So I take it this isn't one of those vaccines you take in advance so you never catch it to begin with, or have a mild first case if you do?
Be careful out there.
