Dengue 2025 global surge - urgent call to bolster hospital preparedness for severe dengue - Letter to the Editor

Sep 29, 2026

In 2025, dengue is surging worldwide, with more than 3.6 million reported infections and close to 2000 deaths across nearly 100 countries. Hospitals, especially in dengue-endemic areas, face severe pressure from increasing severe cases needing critical care. Overstretched ICUs, diagnostic delays, and shortages of trained staff heighten patient risk. Climate change expands Aedes mosquito transmission seasons and intensifies outbreaks. Stronger hospital preparedness is needed through increased ICU capacity, staff training, streamlined triage, and integration of real-time surveillance with clinical response to prevent avoidable complications and deaths.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Letter to the Editor

Dengue 2025 global surge and hospital strain

Gaps in preparedness for severe dengue

Climate-driven expansion of Aedes mosquitoes

Policy recommendations and integrated preparedness

Letter to the Editor Dengue 2025 global surge: urgent call to bolster hospital preparedness for severe dengue Muhammad Shahid Mehmood, MPhila , Fatima Hajj, MDb ,* Abstract In 2025, dengue has reached alarming levels worldwide, with more than 3.6 million reported infections and close to 2000 deaths across nearly 100 countries. Hospitals, particularly in dengue-endemic regions, are struggling to cope with the rise in severe cases that require critical care. Intensive care units (ICUs) are overstretched, diagnostic delays are common, and shortages of trained staff are placing patients at greater risk. Adding to the crisis, climate change is driving the spread of Aedes mosquitoes, extending transmission seasons, and intensifying outbreaks. These challenges highlight the urgent need for stronger hospital preparedness, expanding ICU capacity, training health workers, streamlining triage, and linking real-time surveillance with clinical response. Without timely action, health systems risk being overwhelmed, leading to avoidable complications and deaths. Keywords: Aedes mosquitoes, climate-driven epidemics, critical care, dengue outbreak, global health, hospital readiness, severe dengue To the Editor, Dengue is surging globally in 2025, placing unprecedented strain on hospital systems. Since the start of the year, over 3.6 million dengue cases and more than 1900 deaths have been reported across 94 countries [1]. Regions such as the Americas alone have recorded 2.7 million suspected cases by epidemiological weeks 19–20 [2]. This resurgence follows an already record-breaking 2024, which saw 13–14 million global cases and thousands of fatalities[3]. In many endemic countries, a significant subset of dengue patients progress to severe dengue requiring intensive care, fluid management, and closer monitoring[4]. The increasing case load has exposed gaps in hospital preparedness: many facilities lack capacity for prompt diagnosis, adequate intensive care unit (ICU) beds, trained personnel, and protocols for dynamic fluid resuscitation. Additionally, climate-driven expansion of Aedes mosquito habitat heightens year-round transmission risk[5]. Brazil alone has already reported nearly 194 000 cases in some states, indicating focal outbreaks[6]. Hospital systems must anticipate these spikes and adapt rapidly. This requires strengthening triage protocols to identify patients with warning signs, ensuring adequate stocks of intravenous fluids, blood products, and aInstitute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan and bFaculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article. *Corresponding author. Address: Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut 6573/14, Lebanon. Tel.: +961 81001507. E-mail: [fatimalalala2001@gmail.com](fatimalalala2001@gmail.com) (F. Hajj). Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNon Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. Annals of Medicine & Surgery (2026) 88:1032–1033 Received 2 October 2025; Accepted 11 November 2025 Published online 24 November 2025 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000004389](http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000004389) diagnostic kits, and enhancing staff training in managing dengue shock syndrome. Moreover, expanding ICU surge capacity and linking hospital planning with real-time surveillance data can help institutions prepare for sudden influxes of patients. Preparedness should also extend beyond hospitals. Communitylevel awareness and early healt

FAQs

What is happening to dengue case numbers globally in 2025?

Dengue is surging worldwide in 2025, with more than 3.6 million reported infections and close to 2000 deaths across nearly 100 countries.

Why are hospitals struggling, especially for severe dengue cases?

Hospitals face unprecedented strain due to rising severe cases requiring intensive care, with overstretched ICUs, diagnostic delays, and shortages of trained staff.

How does climate change influence dengue transmission risk?

Climate change drives the spread of Aedes mosquitoes, extending transmission seasons and increasing year-round outbreak risk.

Sep 29, 2026

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