Dengue surveillance shows a sharply uneven global burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) received 14,434,584 reported cases in 2024, including 7,718,585 laboratory-confirmed cases, 52,738 severe cases, and 11,201 deaths. These figures are reported surveillance totals, while some widely cited global figures are model estimates and should not be read as interchangeable.
Contents
- Global burden and long-term scale
- The 2024 dengue burden in the Americas
- Where cases were concentrated
- Dengue in Africa and Europe
- The U.S. case burden and seasonality
- Travel exposure and serotype patterns
Global burden and long-term scale
WHO-reported dengue cases rose from 505,430 in 2000 to 14.6 million in 2024. The 2024 total included reports from more than 100 countries. WHO surveillance identified a major surge in global transmission over the four-month period from February through May 2024. The figures come from Dengue: global situation, surveillance and progress – 2024 update.
Reported surveillance totals capture only the cases that are detected and reported through health systems. The WHO notes that a modeling estimate places annual dengue virus infections at 390 million worldwide, of which 96 million manifest clinically. A recent prevalence study cited in the WHO Dengue fact sheet estimates that 5.6 billion people are at risk of infection with dengue and other arboviruses. The 390 million and 96 million figures are annual model estimates, not counts of confirmed cases.
For a more recent partial-period comparison, more than 4 million dengue cases and more than 3,000 deaths were reported to WHO by 97 countries between January and July 2025. That period does not represent a complete year and should not be compared directly with the full-year 2024 total without accounting for the different coverage and measurement periods.
Transmission also depends on environmental conditions. WHO gives an estimated mosquito-to-human extrinsic incubation period of about 8–12 days at an ambient temperature of 25–28°C. This is a biological estimate describing the interval in the mosquito under those temperature conditions, not a measure of human symptoms or reporting delay.
The 2024 dengue burden in the Americas
The Americas reported 13,063,434 dengue cases between epidemiological weeks 1 and 52 of 2024, an incidence of 1,295.42 cases per 100,000 population. PAHO reported that this was the highest annual dengue case total in its 45-year collection period, covering 1980 through 2024. Regional transmission peaked at epidemiological week 12. From the start of the year to that peak, the growth rate was 512%.
The PAHO Epidemiological Update for Dengue and other Arboviruses recorded 6,997,321 laboratory-confirmed cases in the Americas. Laboratory-confirmed cases represented 53.6% of the regional reports. The region also recorded 23,177 severe dengue cases, equal to 0.2% of all reported cases; the regional proportion of severe cases in the PAHO comparison was 0.18%.
There were 8,431 reported dengue deaths in the Americas in 2024. PAHO gave the regional case-fatality rate as 0.065%. These measures describe the reported regional surveillance data and do not mean that every dengue infection was detected. Mild or asymptomatic infections may not enter surveillance systems.
The ten highest-count countries together reported 12,023,189 cases, or 92.0% of the regional total. This concentration means that a regional headline can be strongly shaped by a small number of national outbreaks, even though transmission occurred across a much wider area.
Where cases were concentrated
Brazil accounted for the largest share of the Americas total in 2024, with 10,266,017 reported cases, or 78.6% of the regional total. Argentina reported 581,559 cases, equal to 4.5%; Mexico reported 558,846, or 4.3%; Colombia reported 320,982, or 2.5%; and Paraguay reported 295,785, or 2.3%.
| Country | Reported cases | Share or reporting scope |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 10,266,017 | 78.6% of the Americas total |
| Argentina | 581,559 | 4.5% of the Americas total |
| Mexico | 558,846 | 4.3% of the Americas total |
| Colombia | 320,982 | 2.5% of the Americas total |
| Paraguay | 295,785 | 2.3% of the Americas total |
WHO’s 2024 global country distribution also recorded 271,531 cases in Peru, 257,271 in Indonesia, 232,425 in India, 188,585 in Guatemala, and 177,209 in Honduras. These country figures come from WHO’s global reporting system, whereas the Americas percentages above are drawn from PAHO’s regional reporting system. The two systems can differ because of timing, case definitions, completeness, and revisions.
Dengue in Africa and Europe
In an update covering 13 African countries with active dengue transmission, WHO reported 32,925 cases from 1 January through 28 April 2024. The total included 14,095 laboratory-confirmed cases, 1,051 severe cases, and 57 deaths. The WHO Dengue – Global situation update provides the period and regional scope for these figures.
Burkina Faso reported 17,098 cases through 28 April 2024, equal to 52% of the African-region total cited by WHO. It also reported 38 deaths, equal to 67% of the cited African-region deaths. Mauritius reported 7,177 cases and 15 deaths during its first 17 epidemiological weeks of 2024. Mali reported 3,231 cases and three deaths between 1 January and 28 April 2024. These time windows are not identical, so the figures should be read as country-specific snapshots rather than a single synchronized annual ranking.
Three of the four dengue serotypes—DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-3—were identified in the WHO African Region during the 2024 update. Serotype detection indicates which dengue virus types were identified in tested cases; it does not by itself measure the total number of infections.
Europe also recorded locally acquired transmission in 2023. The update reported 82 autochthonous cases in Italy, 45 in France, and three in Spain. “Autochthonous” means locally acquired, rather than acquired during travel elsewhere. These are 2023 European figures and should not be blended with the 2024 global or regional totals.
The U.S. case burden and seasonality
CDC ArboNET received an average of 828 dengue cases per year from U.S. states and the District of Columbia during 2010–2023. In 2024, the 50 states and the District of Columbia reported 3,798 cases—359% above that 2010–2023 annual average. The CDC analysis states that these counts were preliminary and may not reflect final counts. The source is Increase in Travel-Associated and Locally Acquired Dengue Cases — United States, 2024.
Travel-associated infections accounted for 97.2% of the 2024 state-and-DC cases, while locally acquired infections accounted for 2.8%. July through September accounted for 41.6% of reported cases, making that three-month period the largest seasonal share in the supplied CDC analysis.
Several demographic and clinical measures add context to the U.S. total. Adults aged 50–59 years represented 21.8% of cases. Females represented 52.5%, and Hispanic or Latino patients represented 57.5%. Hospitalization was reported for 36.1% of patients. Severe dengue accounted for 2.8% of cases, and six deaths occurred, equal to 0.2% of reported cases.
| U.S. 2024 measure | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Total cases in states and D.C. | 3,798 |
| Travel-associated cases | 97.2% |
| Locally acquired cases | 2.8% |
| Cases reported July–September | 41.6% |
| Hospitalization reported | 36.1% |
| Severe dengue | 2.8% |
| Deaths | 6, or 0.2% |
Travel exposure and serotype patterns
Among U.S. travel-associated dengue cases in 2024, the Caribbean accounted for 34.1% of reported exposure locations. North America, defined in the CDC analysis as Mexico and the United States, accounted for 24.3%, while Central America accounted for 15.6%. These are shares of travel-associated exposures in the CDC analysis, not shares of all dengue infections occurring in those regions.
Among 1,204 U.S. cases with a known dengue serotype in 2024, DENV-3 accounted for 54.8%. Because the denominator includes only cases with a known serotype, this percentage does not describe all 3,798 U.S. cases.
Reported cases were concentrated in two states. Florida recorded 1,044 dengue cases among U.S. state-and-DC residents, or 27.5% of the total. California recorded 720 cases, or 19.0%. These state shares use the 3,798-case state-and-DC denominator in the CDC report.
The figures across WHO, PAHO, WHO’s African-region update, and CDC are surveillance results with different reporting systems and periods. They should not be added together. Reported burden is generally an underestimate because mild or asymptomatic infections may not be detected, and the CDC’s 2024 state-and-DC counts were preliminary.