Explore the recorded discovery and history of Dengue virus, with source links and stated limits.
WHO describes dengue as a viral infection spread to people by infected Aedes mosquitoes, found in tropical and subtropical climates and mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. CDC states that about 1 in 4 infected people get sick, and about 1 in 20 of those who get sick develop severe dengue, which is a medical emergency.
WHO records 505,430 dengue cases reported in 2000, the starting point of the reported-case comparison on its fact sheet. Reported cases depend on surveillance and testing and are far fewer than all infections.
WHO records that 2024 saw more dengue cases reported than ever before in a 12-month period, over 14.6 million cases and more than 12,000 deaths across more than 100 countries, with the Region of the Americas reporting over 13 million. Dengue is now endemic in more than 100 countries.
The bundled milestones are surveillance records rather than discovery milestones, and no identification or naming record has been curated for this profile. They do not identify a first human case or where dengue arose.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.