Dengue fever reports from countries in the Americas

Dengue fever is widespread in Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries that are reporting on-going transmission of this virus include:

• El Salvador - more than 2,900 cases
• Honduras - more than 6,000 infected people; 1 death
• Mexico - more than 21,000 cases
• Nicaragua - more than 8,000 cases
• Panama - almost 1,000 infected people
• Dominican Republic - more than 2,800 cases with 18 deaths
• Colombia - multiple epidemics; almost 40,000 cases with 83 deaths
• Ecuador - almost 9,000 infected people
• Peru - approximately 12,000 cases with 10 deaths; the most affected districts: El Porvenir, La Esperanza, Florencia de Mora, Laredo
• Argentina - major problem this year with approximately 47,000 cases; affected province: Corrientes
• Uruguay - over 1,000 cases
• US Virgin Islands

Advice

The risk of exposure to dengue virus will vary from place to place in any country and from one country to another.

The absence of reports does not mean that there is no dengue fever transmission in other countries such as Venezuela or the Caribbean islands.

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.