Let me be clear, by posting this story I am not saying anything about refugees bringing Dengue fever. I simply thought the article was interesting to note and want to keep it in our files (our health issues category). It does however affect Haiti and those traveling to and from the earthquake devastated country.
From Sphere:
Last year, the H1N1 outbreak killed at least 12,500 people worldwide, and billions of dollars were spent on vaccine development and the rush to stymie the virus’ spread. At the same time, another global health crisis was expanding with staggering speed but much less attention.
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness once contained to Central America and Southeast Asia, now threatens 2.5 billion people in more than 100 countries. The affected areas include wide swaths of the United State and Haiti, where the illness was already endemic before last week’s earthquake.
“The bottom line is that this is a neglected disease,” said Dr. Raman Velayudhan, a dengue specialist with the World Health Organization. “No attention means very little donation money, so countries are fending for themselves.”
Dengue (pronounced “DENG-ee”) was identified and named in the late 18th century. The first modern pandemic was reported in Southeast Asia during the 1950s. Since then, outbreaks have become common in tropical regions. About 40 million cases are diagnosed each year, with 22,000 deaths.
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