Dengue Fever in the Caribbean

During the year 2019, nearly all the island nations of the Caribbean reported sporadic cases or outbreaks of dengue fever. Jamaica reported the largest number of cases (more than 7,500 cases and 21 deaths). Reports of cases were received from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, French Guiana, Guadeloupe (3,230 cases), Guyana, Haiti (5 deaths), Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, St Barthelemy, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Martin, St Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and the British Virgin Islands.

Advice

The risk of exposure will vary from place to place and may be high in many localities. The risk of acquiring dengue during travel depends on destination, season and duration of travel and activities during travel. Severe dengue and death are both relatively rare in general travellers but more frequently in those visiting friends and relatives.

All travellers to areas where the dengue fever virus is active can reduce their risk of exposure by taking all necessary precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Many persons with dengue fever do not seek medical care and are not reported to health authorities. There may be many more cases in the community than the reports indicate.

Travellers should also be aware that where dengue fever virus is active, there is a possibility in some locations that the chikungunya and Zika viruses may be present also since they are transmitted by the same mosquito that transmits dengue virus.