Dengue potential U.S. health threat

WASHINGTON , Jan. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said public health officials need to consider the threat of dengue reaching the United States as a real possibility.

The mosquito-borne illness continues to expand into temperate climates and increase in severity, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and senior scientific adviser, Dr. David M. Morens, said in a commentary published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Worldwide, dengue is among the most important reemerging infectious diseases with an estimated 50 to 100 million annual cases…(and) 22,000 deaths," the NIAID scientists said.

The scientists said public health officials need to take the threat seriously because no specific treatments or vaccines for dengue are available.

"The formidable challenges of understanding dengue pathogenesis and of developing effective therapies and vaccines must be met," they said.