Puerto Rico declares dengue fever an epidemic amid alarming wave of ‘bone-breaking’ diseases – in warning to spring breakers

Health officials in Puerto Rico have declared an epidemic after an alarming surge in cases of “bone-breaking” diseases.

At least 549 cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the US territory this year, and more than 340 of them have been hospitalized.

The Department of Health warned that this is a 140 percent spike from this time last year, with almost half of that reported for the whole of 2023.

More than 40 percent of cases Dengue cases in Puerto Rico are concentrated in the capital San Juan, which has almost 350,000 inhabitants.

The epidemic comes amid intense outbreaks in South American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Argentina, with officials in Brazil likening it to the darkest days of Covid.

Health officials have not released a travel advisory, although the increase is occurring during Puerto Rico’s peak season.

The epidemic comes during the peak tourism season, which runs from December to April

Epidemiologists blame global temperature rise for allowing the mosquito that carries the virus to live longer and thrive over a wider area.

Puerto Rico Health Secretary Carlos Mellado Lopez wrote on That is why we call for prevention. ‘

In 2023, the area reported 1,293 cases of dengue fever, while 2024 alone saw 42 percent of that number.

Florida has seen two cases of local transmission this year, meaning patients have contracted the disease without traveling abroad. No other state has identified cases.

According to the CDC, the Sunshine State identified 601 travel-related and 61 locally acquired cases of dengue last year.

The above map shows states and territories in the US that reported locally acquired and travel-acquired cases of dengue fever this year

Florida is the only state to report cases of dengue in the US so far this year, although the infections are becoming more common

Dengue, nicknamed the “bone-breaking disease” because it causes joint and muscle pain so severe it feels like the bones are breaking, is a virus that typically runs its course and goes away.

But in as many as one in twenty cases this can lead to bleeding and organ failure.

It usually causes a range of flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, aches, nausea, swelling and rash, for one to two weeks, but it can develop into a serious and fatal infection.

Brazil has recorded more than 1.5 million cases and 390 deaths from the disease this year alone, fast approaching a total of 1.6 million confirmed cases in all of 2023.

The situation has become so dire that tent hospitals have even been built at strategic points in Brasilia and other cities to assess patients with the virus.

Peru is experiencing a similarly large outbreak, with 32 deaths and 31,000 infections in the first two months of 2024 alone. increase of 97 percent in the same period last year.

Paraguay and Argentina have recorded more than five times the typical number of cases so far this year more than 150,000 and 57,000 casesrespectively.

The outbreaks in South America, which is currently experiencing the end of the summer season, could be a harbinger of what could happen in the Northern Hemisphere.

Dengue spreads through infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which thrive in tropical, subtropical and temperate climates.

The disease then travels to the blood cells.

Higher temperatures during longer warm seasons allow mosquitoes to live longer, even within a few days, increasing the number of cases.

This had led experts to blame rising global temperatures for outbreaks.

Although there are no travel advisories, the epidemic could also wreak havoc on Puerto Rico’s tourism industry.

According to Discover Puerto Rico, the area generated record tourism revenues in 2023, reaching $9.8 billion.

This includes more than 6.1 million passengers landing at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, an increase of 18.6 percent from the previous year.

The CDC has found that as many as 90 percent of dengue fever cases in the US are caused by travel.