A dengue fever outbreak has spread rapidly across Sudan’s Blue Nile region, leaving 39 people dead and more than 300 infected, the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors Union said on Friday.

Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. Infection rates typically surge during the rainy season, as stagnant water provides ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Containing the spread relies on vector control, improved water and sanitation services, early diagnosis, and prompt treatment.

Adeeba Ibrahim Al-Sayyid, a member of the doctors’ committee and an internal medicine and epidemiology specialist, told Sudan Tribune that the committee tracked 350 confirmed dengue cases across the Blue Nile region, including 76 in Ed Damazin, the regional capital.