We all know that climate change can lead to unexpected hazards. Add one more to the list: the spread of dengue fever. Warmer climates may be putting millions of people around the world at risk for the disease, a virus that causes excruciating pain in people's joints. This year is on track to be the worst year in nearly a decade for the mosquito-borne virus, also known as "bone-breaker disease." In its milder form, dengue causes flu-like symptoms that last about a week. But about 5 percent of all cases develop into a potentially fatal form that can cause internal and external bleeding.
Trends in Latin America and Southeast Asia have epidemiologists especially worried. The number of dengue cases in Latin America exploded to an estimated 1 million in 2007, twice the amount in 2006. Paraguay declared a state of emergency in March, and even Puerto Rico was logging 500 cases a week at the height of its outbreak. By October, 183 people had died in the region. Southeast Asia was also hit hard. Indonesia clocked 123,500 cases by October, with more than 1,250 people dead. Significant outbreaks have flared up in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Although there is no vaccine, it doesn't have to be this way. Singapore got its dengue problem largely under control by running the world's toughest war on mosquitoes. Others should follow its lead.
[Photo: Akek Berryl/Getty Images]
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