The biggest dengue outbreak in the last five years in Guangdong province, which borders Macau, could be linked to climate change, local experts said.
The province, which has a population of 125 million inhabitants, has recorded more than 8,700 cases of dengue this year, far more than the 6,042 cases recorded in 2019 and the 4,195 in 2023, marking the most serious outbreak in the last five years.
The increase in cases coincided with the extreme weather conditions recorded in recent months in the region, where high temperatures and heavy rains created an environment favorable to the proliferation of mosquitoes, the main transmitter of dengue fever, local newspaper Yicai reported.
Since May, local authorities have detected an increase in mosquito density in more than 30 high-risk areas, anticipating an increase in cases of the disease.
Public health expert Zhang Hua, quoted by Yicai, said "climate change, including increasing precipitation and temperatures, is changing mosquito habitats and favoring expansion into areas that were previously not prone to such outbreaks." ".
According to another unnamed expert, "not only mosquitoes, but also other animals such as ticks and rodents" can begin transmitting diseases in new areas due to "changes in habitats."
In recent years, there has been a tendency for dengue fever to spread to more northern provinces in China, where the disease has traditionally not been reported.
"The disease may spread to areas in northern and central China due to climate conditions increasingly favorable to mosquito breeding in these regions," Zhang warned.
According to a study cited by Yicai, between 2015 and 2023, the dengue incidence rate in China increased annually by an average of 70.79%, with cases recorded in all provinces except Tibet (southwest).
China is not the only country to recently record a rise in the number of dengue cases: South American countries such as Peru, Paraguay and Brazil have recorded similar trends.
The disease affects people of all ages and for the World Health Organization, the meteorological phenomenon 'El Niño' is behind the spread of the epidemic.
