France’s Réunion Island Reports Dengue Outbreak During 2019

According to French authorities, Réunion Island has detected 2,307 cases of the dengue virus, and 6 related deaths, since the beginning of 2019.

This data from March 10, 2019, compares with just 350 confirmed dengue cases for the same time period in 2018.

And the data indicates the dengue outbreak may be accelerating on the Island. During March 2019, Réunion Island authorities have recorded over 566 dengue cases per week. 

This dengue outbreak has been affecting people mostly living in the southern area, but are predicting that the epidemic may affect the entire island during 2019.

France’s Réunion Island is located east of Africa and Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean.   

From a clinical perspective, the circulating dengue serotype is still DENV2. Severe dengue, which is also known as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death in endemic regions, says the PAHO. 

The risk for onward transmission of dengue fever in Europe is linked to importation of the virus by travelers from areas with active vectors, such as Aedes albopictus mosquitoes mainly around the Mediterranean Sea, and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on the island of Madeira. 

Across the globe, there are several dengue outbreaks in the Americas. 

On March 4, 2019, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) called for countries in the Region of the Americas to prepare for possible outbreaks of the Dengue Fever virus. 

And, on March 9, 2019, the PAHO has reported 236,372 suspected and confirmed dengue cases in the whole Americas region in 2019. 

The unfortunate leader is the country of Brazil, with over 185,000 dengue cases. 

As an example, the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has already reported more than 1,000 cases during 2019.   

The USA has confirmed just 53 dengue cases during 2019, says the PAHO. 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the only way to prevent the transmission of the dengue virus is to fight against mosquitoes bites. 

However, there may be preventive dengue vaccines available in the USA soon. 

On March 7, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee recommended approving Dengvaxia, a dengue virus vaccine, for people between the age of 9 to 16 years old. 

And, Takeda’s dengue vaccine candidate TAK-003, a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate, was reported efficacious in preventing dengue fever in a phase 3 study. 

To know where there are active dengue outbreaks, the CDC has issued Travel Alerts related to dengue and continues to update its ‘maps.’

Travel vaccination and medication counseling sessions can be easily scheduled at Vax-Before-Travel.