Peru Reports Nearly 150,000 Dengue Cases Amid El Niño Rains; Over 1,300 Hospitalizations Daily

A local resident pushes his cart through the mud after flooding caused by recent rains, in the province of Paita in Piura, Peru, on March 24. The El Nino climate phenomenon is causing muddy rivers to overflow along the entire Peruvian coast, isolating communities and neighborhoods. ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP/Getty Images

Peru is battling its worst dengue outbreak in recent years with almost 200 reported deaths and nearly 150,000 cases, and the El Niño weather phenomenon is being blamed.

There have been 145,529 total cases of dengue infection in the country as of June 13, including 75,798 confirmed cases and 69,731 probable ones, according to data from Peru’s National Center for Epidemiology, Disease Prevention and Control. There have been 183 confirmed deaths, with 31 over the previous week; 62 of the deaths are under investigation.

More than 1,300 people are being hospitalized daily.

Dengue is a virus carried by Aedes species mosquitoes that are most prevalent in regions with tropical and subtropical climates. Peruvian health authorities are blaming El Niño as a key factor for the current surge in dengue cases.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon that drives tropical cyclones in the Pacific and thus raises the risk of rainfall and flooding in countries in the region. A season of heavy rains can trigger a rapid expansion of mosquito populations because of the accumulation of water in various places.

The last time Peru saw a major outbreak of dengue cases was in 2017, when the region was affected by El Niño. At the time, there were 68,290 cases and 89 deaths. This year’s numbers have already eclipsed 2017 figures.

Dengue Danger

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 4 people who get infected by the dengue virus will get sick. Among those who do get sick, symptoms can range from mild to severe.

The most common symptoms of dengue are fever, along with some other discomforts, such as nausea, vomiting, rashes, aches, or pain in the muscles, joints, bones, or behind the eyes. There’s no specific medicine for treating dengue.

Roughly 1 in 20 people who get sick with dengue are expected to develop severe sickness that can result in shock, internal bleeding, and even death. Those who have already contracted dengue in the past are more likely to develop severe dengue.

In Peru, the situation is now so alarming that President Dina Boluarte signed a decree on June 8 that declared a two-month “state of emergency.” The emergency declaration is valid in 18 of Peru’s 24 regions and allows quick official action for “imminent danger from heavy rainfall” this year and in 2024.

Children are believed to be at particular risk from severe dengue.

“In Piura, 30 percent of the infected people are children,” said César Orrego, ombudsman for the region, according to The Guardian. “Their cases can quickly become fatal, so we need pediatricians.”

Health Alert, Global Situation

On June 7, the U.S. Embassy in Lima issued a health alert warning about the spread of dengue fever in the South American nation and advised travelers to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive updates from the embassy.

The CDC has issued a travel health notice for Peru, warning travelers to be “aware of current health issues” in the country. It has classified Peru as a “Level-1: Practice Usual Precautions” nation.

“Because dengue is spread by mosquito bites, all travelers to risk areas should prevent mosquito bites by using an EPA-registered insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, and sleeping in an air-conditioned room or room with window screens or under an insecticide-treated bed net,” the agency stated.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting dengue, with annual infections ranging from an estimated 100 million to 400 million.

Over the decades, the number of dengue cases reported to WHO has soared, jumping to 5.2 million in 2019 from 505,430 cases in 2000. Since a vast majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, the organization believes that the actual number of cases is underreported.