At least 2.1 million people in North and South America have been infected this year with dengue — a record-setting figure that scientists attribute in part to climate change.
The Pan American Health Organization says there have been about 2.1 million confirmed cases of the potentially fatal disease in the Americas since January. That’s already more than the record-setting mark of 2 million confirmed cases for all of 2023.
And this year’s figure could be much higher. As many as 5.1 million people may have been infected in North and South America, according to the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations agency in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas.
The outbreak has pushed Puerto Rico, Peru and nine of Brazil’s 26 states to declare states of emergency. More than 1,800 people in the Americas have died this year from dengue.
