18th International Course on Dengue and Other Emerging Arboviruses

Havana, August 20(RHC) Scientists from several latitudes are participating today in the 18th International Course on Dengue and Other Emerging Arboviruses, organized by the Pedro Kouri Institute, a leader in the study of communicable diseases.

Specialists from Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, the United States and the host country, Cuba, are participating in this edition, along with 12 experts from WHO and PAHO, who will provide technical contributions and advice on the management of outbreaks of arboviral diseases.

The experts include Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Acting Director of WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness, and Dr. Andrea Vicari, Head of the Infectious Threat Management Unit of PAHO's Department of Health Emergencies.

One of the objectives is to update and discuss the epidemiological situation and advances in knowledge, prevention, and control of dengue and other arboviruses, with special reference to chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, mayaro, and oropouche.

Official figures show that the year 2023 was catalogued as the year with the highest number of dengue cases reported worldwide, and in the Americas alone, more than 4.5 million cases were reported, with 7,665 severe cases and 2,363 deaths.

The four serotypes circulate in the region with co-circulation of 2, 3 and 4 serotypes in several countries, and cases of chikungunya fever have been gradually increasing with the report of a serious epidemic in Paraguay in 2023.

The delegates of the 18th edition of the course will learn about the clinical management of patients, vector control, advances in research on pathogenesis, vaccines, genetics of the individual, the viruses and the vector, new control tools, the influence of climate change on the emergence of diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The course, which will last until August 30, is organized by the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Control, the Pedro Kouri Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Cuban Society of Microbiology and Parasitology, the Cuban Ministry of Health, and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization.