July 25, 2024 – In the wake of the United Arab Emirates’ heaviest-ever recorded rainfall in April, the nation has experienced a surge in dengue cases. The increase comes amid a worldwide spike in the tropical disease.
A July 24 AP article detailed how the April rains led to major flooding in the UAE, leaving some areas with stagnant pools of water that have served as breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that spread dengue. The infectious disease can cause fever and flu-like symptoms, and severe cases can lead to serious bleeding and death.
The article also noted that those hardest hit by the disease have been communities of laborers, particularly migrant workers.
“I call it a double whammy of climate change on this very vulnerable population,” said Barrak Alahmad, a research fellow in Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health. “I see that these migrant workers are on the front line facing the effects of climate change and health.”
He added, “Each year, we are going to see new places and different local governments struggling with either dengue or other issues from climate change. It is an ever-expanding issue. I don’t know if we have an easy fix to this.”
Read the AP article: Floods and climate change blamed for surge in dengue in the Emirates as WHO warns of global spike
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