Planning social mobilization and communication for dengue fever prevention and control. A step-by-step guide

Dengue fever (DF) and its more severe form, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), are causing ever-increasing levels of illness and death.

An estimated 50 million dengue infections occur every year, including 500 000 cases of DHF that require hospitalization – equivalent to approximately one DHF case every minute.

At least 21 000 deaths from DHF occur every year, mostly among children – equivalent to one young life lost to DHF almost every 20 minutes.

These statistics will worsen unless urgent and effective action is taken.

Some 40% of the world’s population (2.5 billion people) now live in areas where transmission occurs. The disease is endemic in the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific, and tropical areas of Africa. Recent research shows that the global burden of dengue could be in the same order of magnitude as many other infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections (excluding HIV/AIDS), the prevention and control of which receive far greater political and financial support than dengue.