Global Landmark: 2023 Marks the Worst Year for Dengue Cases with Millions Infected and Thousands of Deaths Reported

Objectives
In 2023, the world experienced the worst dengue virus (DENV) outbreak on record. This study aims to identify global regions and continents with a high burden of Dengue in 2023.

Design
We collected data on the number of DENV cases and deaths reported by various countries to the WHO and WHO regional offices to identify regions with a high burden. We estimated cases per million population and case-fatality ratio among the confirmed cases reported by each country.

Results
Overall, in 2023 globally, 6.5 million cases and >6800 deaths attributed to DENV were recorded, marking a historic milestone. Two distinct hotspots of dengue virus circulation emerged: the South American and the South and Southeast Asian regions. South America reported 3,924,992, the highest number of cases and 1,946 deaths, resulting in a case fatality ratio (CFR) of 0.05. In Asia, 1,622,405 cases and 3,637 deaths were reported, with a CFR of 0.22. We observed a statistically significant difference in the number of cases and deaths per million across different continents (P-value < 0.001). However, the case fatality rate (CFR) did not differ significantly across continents (P-value = 0.123).

Conclusions
The increased cases and mortality highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive global approach aimed at DENV infection control, including vaccine development, vector control, public health initiatives, and improved clinical management.