What a devastating year for the health of millions this has been. Not only has COVID19 affected so many loved ones, but the speed and magnitude of the outbreak has also left health systems crippled worldwide. 

While phenomenal effort has turned to supporting the COVID19 response, countless communities and hospitals have been buckling under the strain of unprecedented dengue outbreaks. 2019 was a record year and 2020 is set to be even worse for numerous countries. In Latin America, Argentina now has 5 times more cases of dengue than COVID19 and Brazil is set to become the epicentre of COVID19 infections just as its dengue outbreak peaks. For India and Asia, the dengue season is just starting, with large dengue outbreaks already reported in Singapore, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines. This means even less beds, less healthcare workers and less resources to treat life-threatening conditions such as COVID19.

The early symptoms of COVID19 and dengue are very similar which means that diagnosis and treatment can be difficult for frontline workers; in addition, given the dual outbreaks, some hospitals report that intensive care units could only be available for 25% of COVID19 patients in need, which means risking a huge number of lives. 

We are incredibly grateful that over 23,000 people have signed the petition for a World Dengue Day! This has been incredible!

Now, we would like to ask all those who have signed to share this message with friends and colleagues to also sign this petition so that together we can raise awareness of the huge threat of dengue fever, but also strengthen our health systems worldwide for the benefit of all.   

Once again a very big thank you from the whole team at the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases for your ongoing support.