According to a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, COVID-19-related curbs imposed on peoples movements and interactions may be associated with a steep drop in the cases of dengue fever in 2020.

The study noted that around 750,000 fewer cases of dengue fever than expected occurred in 2020 across the globe, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Investigators evaluated data from 23 countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia where dengue is endemic. Senior author Oliver Brady, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that the study’s results are surprising as a significant decline in dengue cases was seen when people could not leave their homes and visit other places, such as schools. However, dengue is not transmitted from human to human, but through the bite of Aedes mosquito. Scientists had previously thought that most of the transmission occurred in and around the houses, rather than elsewhere.

Brady added that they did not expect such a trend and stated that the findings encourage more detailed study of interventions… (Reuters, March 3, 2022)