"Peru is taking extraordinary measures such as banning households from filling vases with water, as it battles its worst dengue outbreak on record, a crisis that experts have linked to increased rainfall and warmer temperatures as the climate changes.

As of Monday, the South American nation has recorded more than 110,000 probable cases of dengue this year, according to its National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases. At least 114 people have died after being infected with the virus, with another 39 fatalities under investigation.

The outbreak is a warning sign for countries in the tropics, where dengue and other insect-borne illnesses are increasingly prevalent as a rapidly changing climate brings more instances of warm and wet weather, which provide ideal breeding conditions for mosquito hosts. At its worst, dengue can cause high fevers, serious organ failure and death. The number of reported cases increased roughly tenfold from about 500,000 in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2019, according to the World Health Organization, which in March declared dengue a “major public health problem” for the Americas region."

Frances Vinall reports for the Washington Post May 31, 2023. [2]