Dengue fever

Surveillance

How many cases are there of dengue fever? How many in Canada and around the world?

There are approximately 200-300 imported cases of dengue identified and diagnosed every year in Canada. All of these cases have been among travellers returning from countries where the dengue virus is present.

Most Canadian travellers infected with the virus will show no, or only mild symptoms. Therefore the actual number of imported dengue cases in Canada is likely much higher.

Worldwide, it is estimated that up to 400 million people are infected with the dengue virus every year.

The World Health Organization monitors dengue through its Global dengue surveillance dashboard. It also posts information about dengue outbreaks through its Disease outbreak news service.

Dengue fever is found throughout the world, but mainly occurs in tropical and subtropical, mainly in urban and semi-urban areas. It is widespread in more than 100 countries in regions of:

• Africa
• Central and South America
• the Caribbean
• the Eastern Mediterranean
• South and Southeast Asia
• Oceania

Since 2010, locally-acquired cases have also been reported in Europe--including France, Portugal (Madeira) and Croatia.