Spiralling cases of dengue in Latin America
Investment in vaccination, vector control, and surveillance is vital In 2024, Latin America recorded its biggest ever dengue outbreak, with 13 million reported cases and 8328 deaths, mainly in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia.1 The region’s second largest recorded outbreak, in 2023, had 4.5 million cases. In the first 15 weeks of 2025, 2.1 million cases were reported, with higher than usual incidence in several Central and South American countries.2 The risk of increasingly severe outbreaks poses a persistent challenge to national health systems not only in Latin America but worldwide. In Europe, for example, conditions for dengue transmission have expanded to between June and November, and outbreaks may be triggered by imported cases.3 Infodengue, Brazil’s early warning system, raised a warning in 2024 given persistently high notifications in the winter combined with an extended season because of El Niño climate conditions.4 Intensified preparation efforts, including earlier re
