UN health agency cites tenfold increase in reported cases of dengue over the last generation

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says reported cases of dengue globally increased tenfold over the last generation. The World Health Organization said Friday that reported cases soared to a record 5.2 million in 2019, up from 500,000 in 2000, across 129 countries worldwide, figures that likely understate the actual toll. The agency says climate change and the growing spread of virus-carrying mosquitoes were partly to blame for the transmission that remains mostly prevalent in the Americas. In January, WHO warned that dengue posed a pandemic threat and was the world’s fastest spreading mosquito-borne disease. It says more than 5 million cases and over 5,000 dengue-related deaths have been reported this year.