Version: April 2024
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection prevalent in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide. The disease is caused by four closely related viruses, the Dengue viruses 1-4. There are two forms of disease, Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever. Typical symptoms include high fever, severe headache, and joint pain. It can advance to the severe form, leading to bleeding, blood plasma leakage, or organ impairment. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, commonly found in urban environments, primarily transmits it. There is no specific treatment for dengue, but early detection can reduce complications.
The Dengue cases in Chinese mainland display a clear cyclical trend from 2014 to 2024, with peaks typically occurring in September and October. The highest peak was in October 2014 with 28,796 cases. Since then, there’s been a notable decline in the number of cases through the years, with peaks progressively getting lower. However, in 2023 there was a substantial surge, with the highest peak of 6,494 cases in September, the largest recorded since 2016.
The recorded deaths due to Dengue in this time period are relatively low, with the highest number of fatalities in a month being 4 in September 2014. Despite the decrease in overall Dengue cases from 2015, there’s no consistent pattern in the number of deaths each year. Several months report no fatalities at all, and on occasions when deaths do occur they are usually singular or very few. This suggests the mortality rate of Dengue in Chinese mainland is relatively low but consistent throughout the years.