The worsening spread of this mosquito-borne disease is largely due to factors exacerbated by climate change. On International Day of Epidemic Preparedness 2024, this article unpacks the real causes and the Red Cross' comprehensive response.

Dengue has been a major public health threat in Latin America for decades, with epidemics occurring cyclically every three to five years. Transmitted by female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the virus affects millions of people every year, but never more than now.

So far this year, more than 12.7 million suspected cases of dengue were reported in the Region of the Americas, a record number in the history of the disease.

In Central America and Mexico, more than 17,000 new suspected cases of dengue were reported in the last week of November alone. This equates to 100 cases every hour, a 198 per cent increase over the average over the past five years.

This increase in the spread of dengue poses a challenge to health systems in a region facing complex climatic and health conditions.