Global Dengue Epidemic Worsens with Record 14 Million Cases and 9,000 Deaths Reported in 2024

Najmul Haider; Mohammad Nayeem Hasan; Joshua Onyango; Masum Billah; Sakirul Khan; Danai Papakonstantinou; Priyamvada Paudyal; Md Asaduzzaman

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107940

Global Dengue Epidemic Worsens with Record 14 Million Cases and 9,000 Deaths Reported in 2024

Int J Infect Dis. 2025 May 29:107940. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107940. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Najmul Haider¹, Mohammad Nayeem Hasan², Joshua Onyango³, Masum Billah⁴, Sakirul Khan⁵, Danai Papakonstantinou⁶, Priyamvada Paudyal⁷, Md Asaduzzaman⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, ST5 5BG. Electronic address: n.haider@keele.ac.uk.
² Department of Statistics, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh. Electronic address: nayeem5847@gmail.com.
³ The Harper and Keele Veterinary School, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, ST5 5BG. Electronic address: j.o.onyango@hkvets.ac.uk.
⁴ Department of Engineering, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2DE, UK. Electronic address: masum.billah@staffs.ac.uk.
⁵ Research Center for Global and Local Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Yufu, Oita, Japan. Electronic address: sakirul@oita-u.ac.jp.
⁶ School of Medicine, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, UK. Electronic address: d.papakonstantinou@keele.ac.uk.
⁷ Institute for Global Health and Wellbeing, School of Medicine, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, UK. Electronic address: p.paudyal@keele.ac.uk.
⁸ Department of Engineering, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2DE, UK. Electronic address: md.asaduzzaman@staffs.ac.uk.

PMID: 40449873
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107940

Abstract

Dengue, caused by the dengue virus (DENV), is the fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease worldwide. We utilised monthly data on dengue cases and deaths reported through the World Health Organisation's (WHO) global surveillance system for the period of 1^st January to 31^st December 2024. We then performed a generalised linear regression model to understand country-level determinants of dengue-related mortality. In 2024, 14.1 million dengue cases were reported globally, surpassing the historic milestone of 7 million observed in 2023. This figure represents a twofold increase compared to 2023 and a 12-fold rise compared to 2014 (n=1,206,644). In 2024, 9,508 dengue-related deaths were recorded, resulting in a global case-fatality rate of 0.07%. In the regression analysis, countries in the Southern hemisphere (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 5.95, 95% CI: 4.19-8.46), and aged population (IRR 1.04, CI: 1.01-1.07), and mean annual temperature (IRR 1.21, CI: 1.16-1.26) were significantly associated with higher dengue-related mortality per million population. The ongoing dengue outbreak underscores the urgent need for global investment in DENV research, vaccine development, vector control, and therapeutic strategies. We urge the inclusion of DENV in the WHO's Research and Development Priority Disease list to address this growing global health threat.

Keywords: 2024; Dengue; Epidemic; Global Burden; Outbreak; R&D priority list; WHO.