Prevalence of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia: Jeddah as a case study

Abstract

Dengue fever is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including Saudi Arabia. Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) transmits dengue and many other diseases, including chikungunya and Zika. This study provides an overview of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia since the first case was recorded in the early 1990s. In addition, it focuses on the epidemiological situation in Jeddah as a case study to study the spatial distribution of dengue cases using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques over 5 years, from 2019 to 2023. The first recorded case in Saudi Arabia was in October 1993; however, daily data indicates that 2023 is a major epidemic year. The number of infections has reached 4099 so far during the first half of the year, which indicates a significant increase compared to previous years. GIS analysis has unveiled the locations of high infection rates across multiple municipalities, commonly called hotspots, and identified areas where dengue cases remain relatively low. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) tool was used to determine the severity of infection in different areas of Jeddah. The study concluded that factors such as temperature, rainfall, and septic tanks in areas that lack a proper sanitation network are the most contributing factors to the spread of disease vectors and, thus, dengue. Winter rainfall creates conducive breeding environments for dengue mosquito vectors, increasing transmission rates. On the other hand, summer heat accelerates the mosquito life cycle and enhances viral replication, heightening the risk of dengue transmission.

Efficacy of aqueous and alcoholic formulations extracted from Padina boryana algae against Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae: A comparative study

“…The epidemiological history of the disease traces back to October 1993, when the first case was recorded (Fakeeh & Zaki 2001, 2003). Since then, the number of cases has gradually increased, reaching its peak in Jeddah in 2023 with approximately 4431 confirmed cases (Alyahya 2023b). Throughout this period, Jeddah experienced many outbreaks of dengue fever, with notable occurrences in 2013 and 2016, where the infection count reached 4407 and 4432 cases, respectively (Alyahya 2023b).…”

Uncovering the knowledge gap: A web-based survey of healthcare providers’ understanding and management of dengue fever in East Azerbaijan, Iran

“…Even though Iran is not considered an endemic country of dengue fever as yet, due to the establishment Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the north and south of Iran, [13][14][15] and because of huge travel and trade between the north and south of the country, there is a potential for the expansion of the distribution range of these vectors throughout the country. Also, travel and trade with dengue-endemic countries (India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan) pose Iran at continuous risk of invasion of vector species and epidemics of the diseases they transmit through virus circulation by imported cases [7,11,[16][17][18][19][20]. The first case of DF in Iran was recorded in a patient who had previously visited Malaysia in 2008.…”