WHO releases dengue strategy report, sets goal of cutting related deaths in half by 2020

"Saying dengue virus infections and deaths have mushroomed in recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a strategy report that sets a goal of cutting deaths in half and reducing cases by 25 percent over the next eight years," CIDRAP reports. "The report, titled 'Global Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control,' also sets a goal of estimating the true burden of dengue disease by 2015 -- signaling how little is known about the global impact of the mosquito-borne illness," the news service writes. "In general, the report says that the tools already exist to make a big dent in the dengue problem, but that better tools, particularly in the diagnostic realm, are urgently needed," CIDRAP notes, adding, "Currently there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for dengue fever or its more serious complication, dengue hemorrhagic fever" (Roos, 9/4).