Dengue Outbreaks 2023

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Last reviewed

June 2, 2023

Fact checked by Holly Lutmer PharmD
Fact checked by Robert Carlson, MD

Content Overview

Dengue outbreaks in Brazil, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Florida, France, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain in June 2023.

Dengue Outbreaks June 2023

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dengue is a vaccine-preventable, vectorborne infectious disease caused by four dengue viruses and is endemic in about 125 countries. Dengue is present in Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, the Americas, Africa, and Mexico. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says about 400 million dengue infections occur yearly. The CDC recently issued travel alerts regarding dengue outbreaks in the Americas (April 17, 2023), Africa/Middle East (December 2022), Costa Rica, and Asia/Pacific Islands (April 17, 2023). In addition, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued various dengue travel advisories as of March 31, 2023.

And a recent study published by the Royal Society indicates that dengue-carrying mosquitoes are expanding their range by an average of 6.5 m of elevation and have moved polewards by 4.7 km annually. Dengue infections are detectable by approved tests offered by Ulta Labs.

Dengue in the U.S. 2023

Provisional data published by the U.S. CDC as of June 1, 2023, indicates U.S. states (Florida, New York, Illinois, and Arizona) reported about 129 travel-related and (3) locally-acquired dengue cases in Florida (2) and Texas (1). In addition, the CDC says dengue is endemic in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. During 2010–2020, Puerto Rico reported the highest number of dengue cases (29,862 [96.6%]), followed by American Samoa (660), USVI (353), and Guam (28). Furthermore, the annual incidence rate was highest in American Samoa, with 10.2 cases per 1,000 population in 2017.

Dengue in Florida 2023

As of May 27, 2023, the Florida Health Department reported as of week #21, there had been 77 travel-associated dengue cases and two locally acquired dengue cases confirmed in 2023. In 2022, 903 travel-associated and 68 locally-acquired dengue cases were reported. Miami-Dade County remains under a mosquito-borne illness alert. In 2022, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County confirmed (DENV-3) cases, and in Broward County, a mosquito-borne illness alert was issued.

Dengue in Puerto Rico 2023

As of May 25, 2023, Puerto Rico's Department of Health Arboviral Disease Week #21 report indicates 305 probable dengue cases confirmed this year. In 2022, 929 confirmed dengue cases and three related fatalities were reported. From 2010 to 2020, approximately 95% of locally acquired dengue cases in the U.S. (n = 31,289) occurred near San Juan, Puerto Rico (n = 29,779).

Dengue in the Americas

The WHO reported 2.8 million dengue cases in the Americas in 2022, representing a two-fold increase compared to the 1.2 million cases reported in 2021. In the Region of the Americas, 46 countries and territories reported dengue cases to the PAHO in 2022. And Nicaragua is the country with the most significant incidence of dengue-related fatalities, which were reported in Bolivia (26), Peru (26), and Brazil (24). Of note, the countries with the most severe dengue cases included Cuba, Honduras, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Grenada, Puerto Rico (3.51%), and the British Virgin Islands (9.09%). In addition, the PAHO Epidemiological Update (March 2023) revealed the U.S. Virgin Islands had confirmed new locally acquired dengue cases in 2023.

As of EW 10 of 2023, dengue remains the predominant arboviral disease, representing 75% (342,243) of all the arbovirus cases in the Americas.

Dengue Bangladesh

As of December 2022, a total of 61,972 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases and 274 related fatalities (CFR 0.44%) were reported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Bangladesh in 2022.

Dengue Costa Rica

According to the Republic of Costa Rica Health Surveillance Directorate for epidemiological week 16, a total of 1,179 cases of dengue were reported, with the Huetar Caribe and Central Sur regions presenting the most cases and 336 in 2022. As of March 6, 2023, all four dengue serotypes were registered.

Dengue Europe

The European CDC published Situation Update on Match 17, 2023, reporting no autochthonous dengue cases have been reported in 2023. However, six cases from 2022 were reported retrospectively in Spain in 2023. Ibiza, Spain, health officials issued a dengue warning in March 2023. "One of the potential vectors of dengue is the Aedes albopictus mosquito, present throughout the area, the Spanish Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands and also in some areas of the interior and north of the country," a spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of Health said, according to EuroNews. From May through December 9, 2022, Public Health France reported metropolitan France confirmed 272 imported cases of dengue fever.

Dengue Ethiopia

Ethiopia has had nearly annual dengue outbreaks since 2013. In addition, there has been an ongoing dengue fever outbreak in the Afar region in northeastern Ethiopia since April 2023. The World Health Organization Africa Region reported on May 29, 2023, a total of 1,638 suspected and confirmed dengue cases and nine associated deaths (case fatality ratio= 0.5%) in Logia and Mille districts in the region from April 4 through May 10, 2023.

Dengue in India

Dengue cases have steadily increased in the last 50 years in South-East Asian counties such as India. Over a hundred thousand dengue cases are diagnosed in India annually, and about half of the country's population carries dengue virus-specific antibodies. Since 2000, genotype III of DENV-1, the cosmopolitan genotype of DENV-2, genotype III of DENV-3, and genotype I of DENV-4 have dominated India. Moreover, the DENV-4-Id is drifting towards DENV-1 and DENV-3 clades, suggesting the role of cross-reactive antibodies in its evolution.

Dengue Mexico

Dengue has been reported in 28 of 32 Mexico states in 2023. In 2022, the PAHO reported 36,926 cases throughout Mexico and 53 dengue deaths (Sonora confirmed 14 deaths, Oaxaca 13 deaths). In addition, dengue transmission has been documented in Yucatan, Mexico (Cancun) since 1979. The recent increase in dengue cases in Mexico has been partly attributed to the genetic diversification of DENV serotypes and the emergence of new genotypes across Latin America (Hernández-García et al., 2020).

Dengue Western Pacific Region

The WHO published Update #664 on the Dengue situation in the Western Pacific Region. As of April 2023, countries like Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia experienced dengue outbreaks.