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In the Americas, dengue fever
intensified as a public health problem during the 1980s -- between 1980 and
1990 more than one million dengue cases were reported. Also, during those
years, an increase in cases of the potentially fatal forms of dengue, dengue
hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome, was observed in various countries
of the Americas.
Prospects for reversing the recent trend of increased
epidemic activity and geographic expansion of dengue are not promising. New
dengue virus strains and serotypes will likely continue to be introduced into
many areas where the population densities of Aedes aegypti are at high levels.
With no new mosquito control technology available, in recent years public
health authorities have emphasized disease prevention and mosquito control
through community efforts to reduce larval breeding sources. Although this
approach will probably be effective in the long run, it is unlikely to impact
disease transmission in the near future. We must, therefore, develop improved,
proactive, laboratory-based surveillance systems that can provide early
warning of an impending dengue epidemic. At the very least, surveillance
results can alert the public to take action and physicians to diagnose and
properly treat dengue/DHF cases.
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