74 people in New York and over 880 people nationwide, have been infected with mosquito-borne dengue fever this year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. 44 states and jurisdictions have reported cases of dengue fever.
This year’s US cases are among 3 million in the Americas as a whole, which according to the journal Nature is the highest number since 1980.
In a news briefing earlier this month, World Health Organization officials called dengue fever a “canary in the coalmine of the climate crisis.” That’s because a warmer global climate allows its mosquito transmitters to thrive.
According to the CDC, up to 400 million people worldwide get a dengue virus every year; approximately 100 million people get sick from it, and 40,000 die.
Symptoms for the disease vary. Mild symptoms of an infection, like a fever, rashes, or eye pain, can be easily confused with other illnesses, according to the CDC. Symptoms typically last from two to seven days, but the CDC says “severe dengue is a medical emergency” that mandates a trip to a clinic or emergency room. A severe case can develop as quickly as 24 hours.
Symptoms of a severe case of dengue include belly pain and tenderness; excessive vomiting, bleeding from the gums or nose, blood in vomit or stool, and feeling fatigued or irritable.
