Will dengue fever expand in the United States?

A dengue fever outbreak is once again having its affect in the Rio state of Brazil. An outbreak occurred back 2002, although this current outbreak seems to be more virulent. In 2007 a summary of information was provided by Abell et al. (2007) along the United States border with Mexico, concluding that physicians and other health care providers need to be on the alert for dengue hemorrhagic fever. This seems to be a “wake-up” call.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association warns that dengue fever and hemorrhagic fever could be a threat to the United States, particularly since the travel range of the mosquito carrying the disease is increasing and spreading in various parts of the world (Morens & Fauci, 2008). Since no vaccine is currently available, such threats need to be taken seriously.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Disease provides some comprehensive information about dengue fever, including basic facts, common questions, images and slides, information for health care providers, as well as information for travelers.

In the United States, should anything further be done, beyond current surveillance activities? Should research into a vaccine be more aggressively pursued? As environmental health professionals, we may have often assumed that this disease occurs in the very tropical areas, with the United States generally being excluded. However, with climate changes affecting our environment, previously defined tropical areas are also changing.

– EnvironmentalHealthToday
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Abell, A., Smith, B., Fournier, M., Betz, T., Caul, L., Robles-Lopez, J. L., et al. (2007). Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever–U.S.-Mexico Border, 2005. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 298(18), 2130-2132.

Morens, D. M., & Fauci, A. S. (2008). Dengue and Hemorrhagic Fever. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 299(2), 214-216.