Population growth in cities exacerbates transmission of dengue

"The rapid growth of crowded cities has helped spread and increase the transmission of dengue around the world, health experts said on Tuesday, warning up to 3 billion people were already at risk," Reuters reports. The topic is one of several being discussed at the three-day symposium in Manila, Philippines, on dengue, a "disease that infects 50 million people every year, causing tens of thousands of deaths, mainly among children," according to the news service. 

According to Duane Gubler, director of the Asia Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Hawaii, about 57 percent of people worldwide live in cities. Dengue flourishes in crowded cities that are crippled by "inadequate basic services, such as potable water, sanitation and waste-management and weak public health infrastructures," the news service writes.

To control the spread of dengue, Gubler suggested governments work to strengthen public health services and educate the public about the disease, among other things (Mogato, 9/1).