United States: The Health Authorities in the United States Territory of Puerto Rico have announced that the nation has been suffering with an epidemic. The announcement has been made after a massive rise in the dengue infections were reported.

The small island country has reported as many as 549 cases of the infection – and has a population of approximately 3.2 million. In addition to this, the US health authorities have raised concerns after half of the population of the capital city, San Juan, has been reported positive for the infection.

It is to be noted that the dengue is also known as breakbone fever which can be contagious and even fatal for some of the infected individuals. The disease is caused after an infected mosquito bites a healthy person and some common symptoms of the infection are rashes, fever, headaches and soreness, according to various health authorities.  

According to the information shared by the health department, the mosquito-borne virus has resulted in hospitalization of around 340 people. Prior to this year, the authorities of the island nation declared dengue an epidemic in the year 2012.

Global figures, as reported by WHO!

According to the World Health Organisation, in the year 2023, over five million dengue infections were reported across the world. It is to be noted that around 80 percent of the cases were reported in the Western Hemisphere region.

The health experts outlined that the prime reason behind high number of cases in the particular region was heavy rainfall, humidity and heat – which is linked to climate change.

In this regard, an official statement was shared by the Health Secretary of Puerto Rico – Carlos Mellado, which mentioned, “This year, cases of dengue have surpassed historical records.”

While mentioning about the imposition of a travel emergencies, the secretary mentioned that the imposition of an emergency does not prohibit travel, but will allow the health department to access funding for detection and prevention.