BAMAKO, Mali—Authorities say dengue fever is on the increase in Mali, posing a new threat to the West African country already grappling with terrorist assaults and political upheaval.
Dr. Cheick Amadou Tidiane Traore, the director general of health and public hygiene, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that his agency had reported 21 fatalities and 600 instances of the disease as of Monday.
Dengue fever is a viral infection carried by mosquitos that mostly produces flu-like symptoms. It can cause joint discomfort, enlarged glands, bleeding, and death in extreme situations.
Mali's government has not formally revealed any illness statistics to the public, nor has it said if it has requested WHO assistance.
With the country in the midst of a political upheaval and the danger of terrorists affiliated to al-Qaida and the ISIS terrorist group, a new dengue fever outbreak threatens aggravating the humanitarian crisis, particularly among the vast number of displaced persons.
“Dengue fever is also present in Burkina Faso and Senegal, and we need to raise public awareness,” Dr. Traore said.
The virus usually appears in more tropical habitats, although it was discovered in comparably dry Mali in 2008. The virus was reported again in 2017 and 2019. Long-term statistics on its prevalence are scarce.
Chad's government declared the country's first-ever dengue epidemic in August, with hundreds of verified cases in the country, which, like Mali, is located in the vast Sahel area south of the Sahara desert.
In other news, the WHO recorded record dengue cases this year in Bangladesh and the Americas, with over 300,000 cases and 4 million illnesses, respectively.
