Health

Rising Dengue Prevalence in USVI Signals Urgent Need for Intervention, Study Finds

Dengue, the most common arboviral disease worldwide, is making its presence felt in U.S territories at an unprecedented scale, according to a paper published this month in the Journal of American Medicine. The prevalence of dengue has surged tenfold globally between 2000 and 2019, and U.S territories, particularly the U.S Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, account for over 95 percent of locally acquired cases. From 2010 to 2020, nearly 31,000 dengue cases were reported in the U.S territories, resulting in over 10,000 hospitalizations and 68 deaths. The disease is notably prevalent among children, adolescents, and young adults, suggesting a dire need for effective interventions in this demographic. One such measure is the implementation of the CYD-TDV (Dengvaxia) dengue vaccine, which has shown efficacy against symptomatic disease, hospitalization, and severe dengue among previously infected children between 9 and 16 years old. Despite the logistical challenge of pre-vac...