Travel-related dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Canada, 2025
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Issue: Volume 52-9, September 2026: Foodborne Infections
Date published: September 2026
ISSN: 1481-8531
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Volume 52-9, September 2026: Foodborne Infections
Infographic
Travel-related dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Canada, 2025: Update to results from a feasibility pilot study on laboratory-based surveillance
Text description: Infographic
Dengue, Zika and chikungunya are vector-borne diseases (VBD) spread by mosquitoes that people living in Canada may encounter during travel abroad Footnote 1. These diseases are not currently endemic in Canada and are not reportable and/or nationally notifiable; yet hundreds of travelers returning from endemic regions are diagnosed in Canada each year Footnote 2Footnote 3Footnote 4.
Laboratory-based surveillance uses routine laboratory requisition and testing data to identify and monitor disease activity. The Retro 3 feasibility pilot Footnote 5 applied this approach to retrospectively analyze travel-related dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Canada from 2012 to 2024 Footnote 3Footnote 4, with the dataset subsequently updated to include 2025. Results reflect testing conducted at the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) only, including confirmatory serology for all provinces and territories and molecular testing for all except British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Québec, and therefore underestimate the total disease burdenFootnote a.
Dengue
A total of 48 laboratory-based cases of travel-related dengueFootnote b were identified among persons tested for dengue at the NML in 2025:
- Lower, at approximately half the 2020–2024 average (n=106)
- Approximately 1 in 2 (n=20) of those with available gender information (n=46) were women
- Approximately 1 in 2 (n=20) of all (n=48) were aged 0–19 years
| YearFootnote c | Number of laboratory-based cases | Number of persons tested |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 114 | 478 |
| 2013 | 67 | 346 |
| 2014 | 33 | 307 |
| 2015 | 56 | 464 |
| 2016 | 264 | 2,148 |
| 2017 | 199 | 2,123 |
| 2018 | 237 | 813 |
| 2019 | 346 | 1,015 |
| 2020 | 123 | 326 |
| 2021 | 31 | 91 |
| 2022 | 154 | 629 |
| 2023 | 103 | 471 |
| 2024 | 120 | 522 |
| 2025 | 48 | 325 |
Zika
A total of one laboratory-based case of travel-related ZikaFootnote d was identified among persons tested for Zika at the NML in 2025:
- Lower, at one third the 2020–2024 average (n=3)
| YearFootnote c | Number of laboratory-based cases | Number of persons tested |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015Footnote e | 12 | 213 |
| 2016Footnote e | 400 | 13,141 |
| 2017 | 72 | 13,453 |
| 2018 | 35 | 10,004 |
| 2019 | 26 | 3,110 |
| 2020 | 8 | 396 |
| 2021 | 2 | 49 |
| 2022 | 1 | 261 |
| 2023 | 3 | 283 |
| 2024 | 1 | 124 |
| 2025 | 1 | 90 |
Chikungunya
A total of 64 laboratory-based cases of travel-related chikungunyaFootnote f were identified among persons tested for chikungunya at the NML in 2025:
- More than four times higher than the 2020–2024 average (n=15)
- Approximately 1 in 2 (n=25) of those with available gender information (n=47) were women
- Approximately 1 in 2 (n=31) of all (n=64) were aged 45–64 years
| YearFootnote c | Number of laboratory-based cases | Number of persons tested |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1 | 143 |
| 2013 | 11 | 182 |
| 2014Footnote g | 548 | 1,793 |
| 2015Footnote g | 338 | 2,705 |
| 2016 | 89 | 1,817 |
| 2017 | 46 | 803 |
| 2018 | 4 | 61 |
| 2019 | 8 | 39 |
| 2020 | 8 | 20 |
| 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | 18 |
| 2023 | 9 | 45 |
| 2024 | 57 | 234 |
| 2025 | 64 | 471 |
Pregnancy
No laboratory-based cases of dengue, Zika or chikungunya were identified among pregnant individuals whose samples were tested for these diseases at the NML in 2025, compared with approximately 1 in 5 dengue laboratory-based cases per year on average during 2020–2024 (2020: 46 of 123; 2021: 6 of 31; 2022: 29 of 154; 2023: 19 of 103; 2024: 0 of 120) and only 1 chikungunya laboratory-based case in a pregnant individual over the same period (2020: 1 of 8; 2021: 0 of 1; 2022: 0 of 2; 2023: 0 of 9; 2024: 0 of 57). In 2025, approximately 1 in 50 (n=13 of 660) tested persons reported pregnancy, down from 1 in 5 per year on average during 2020–2024 (2020: 258 of 547; 2021: 17 of 106; 2022: 83 of 671; 2023: 115 of 590; 2024: 46 of 752)Footnote h.
TravelFootnote i
Latin America and the Caribbean remained the top travel destinations linked to laboratory-based cases of dengue and chikungunya in 2025. While travel history data were available for 67% of individuals tested per year on average between 2012 and 2024 (ranging from 35.7% in 2014 to 98.2% in 2018), encompassing destinations spread over 180 countries across all seven continents, complete travel history was recorded for approximately 40% of individuals whose samples were tested for dengue, Zika, or chikungunya at the NML in 2025. Guadeloupe was the top country linked to imported dengue and Cuba, Réunion and Mauritius to imported chikungunya laboratory-based cases in 2025Footnote j.
| CountryFootnote iFootnote j | Dengue | Zika | Chikungunya |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1 | – | – |
| Cameroon | – | – | 1 |
| Colombia | – | – | 1 |
| Cuba | – | – | 16 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | – | 1 |
| Ecuador | 1 | – | – |
| Ethiopia | – | – | 1 |
| France | – | – | 1 |
| Guadeloupe | 3 | – | – |
| Honduras | 1 | – | – |
| India | – | 1 | 1 |
| Indonesia | 1 | – | – |
| Mauritius | – | – | 2 |
| Mexico | 1 | – | 1 |
| Philippines | 1 | – | 1 |
| Réunion | – | – | 5 |
| Sierra Leone | 1 | – | – |
| Sri Lanka | – | – | 1 |
| Thailand | 1 | – | – |
Key Results from 2025
- A total of 48 dengue, 1 Zika and 64 chikungunya laboratory-based travel-related cases were identified among a total of 660 persons whose samples were tested for these diseases at the NML in 2025Footnote c.
- In 2025, dengue laboratory-based cases seemed to occur at slightly younger ages compared to 2020–2024 (median, interquartile range: 34, 10–50 vs. 37, 26–54), with higher proportions aged 0–19 years (1 in 2 vs. 1 in 5), whereas chikungunya laboratory-based cases shifted toward older ages compared to 2024 (median, interquartile range: 50, 38–59 vs. 36, 28–46), with most cases aged 45–64 (1 in 2 vs. 1 in 4). Previous years (2020–2023) had few chikungunya laboratory-based cases, thus not supporting comparison.
- The Caribbean region was linked to about 1 in 3 dengue (n=4 of 12) and 3 in 5 (n=17 of 29) chikungunya laboratory-based cases with available travel informationFootnote i in 2025, the same as the 2020–2024 average for dengue, but higher than in 2024 for chikungunya (approximately 1 in 8 cases; n=3 of 25). Destinations in South-Eastern Asia were linked to one quarter (n=3 of 12) of the remaining dengue laboratory-based cases and in Eastern Africa to one fifth (n=6 of 29) of chikungunya laboratory-based casesFootnote j.
Conclusion
In 2025, pilot laboratory-based surveillance identified higher counts of chikungunya laboratory-based travel-related cases than the 2020–2024 historical average and for 2024, consistent with increased transmission reported globally. Dengue counts were lower. Leveraging laboratory data for epidemiological analysis can provide valuable, timely insights to support monitoring of evolving trends and inform public health response.
Public Health Agency of Canada, BCCDC Public Health Laboratory, Alberta Precision Laboratories, Public Health Ontario Laboratory. Travel-related dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Canada, 2025: Update to results from a feasibility pilot study on laboratory-based surveillance. Can Commun Dis Rep 2026;52(9):377.
