00:00 Dengue fever will become a major threat in the southern United States, southern Europe
00:06 and new parts of Africa this decade, the WHO's chief scientist has warned.
00:11 Warmer temperatures are creating ideal conditions for mosquitoes carrying the infection to spread.
00:17 The illness has long been a scourge in much of Asia and Latin America, causing an estimated
00:22 20,000 deaths each year.
00:25 And rates of the disease have already risen eightfold globally since 2000.
00:31 It's been driven in large part by climate change, as well as the increased movement
00:35 of people and urbanisation.
00:38 Though many cases go unrecorded, 4.2 million cases of dengue fever were reported worldwide
00:44 in 2022, and public health officials have warned that near record levels of transmission
00:50 are expected this year.
00:53 These images are from Bangladesh, which is currently experiencing its worst ever outbreak,
00:58 with more than 1,000 deaths.
01:03 World Health Organisation infectious diseases specialist Jeremy Farrar told Reuters that
01:08 some regions in the US, southern Europe and Africa had reported some limited local transmission
01:14 already.
01:16 He called for better preparation of the impacted areas where the infection is likely to take
01:20 off, in order to avoid putting extreme pressure on health services.
01:25 This could include triaging plans for hospitals and urban planning to avoid areas of standing
01:30 water near or in houses.
01:34 Most people who contract dengue do not have symptoms.
01:37 Those who do can experience fever, muscle spasms and joint pain so severe it is known
01:42 as 'breakbone fever', though it is fatal in less than 1% of cases.
01:48 Earlier this week, the WHO recommended Takeda Pharmaceuticals' Q-Dengue vaccine for children
01:54 aged 6 to 16 in areas where the infection is a significant public health problem.
01:59 Q-Dengue is also approved by the EU regulator, but Takeda withdrew its application in the
02:05 United States earlier this year, citing data collection issues.
02:09 Takeda said it was still in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration about the
02:14 vaccine.
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