A Nation in the Grip of Dengue: How Climate, Pollution, and Urbanization Are Feeding a Relentless Killer-The Mosquito

Editorial Letter

A Nation in the Grip of Dengue: How Climate, Pollution, and Urbanization Are Feeding a Relentless Killer-The Mosquito

Abdul Kader Mohiuddin ID ^*

Alumnus, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

*Corresponding Author: Abdul Kader Mohiuddin, Alumnus, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Citation: Abdul K. Mohiuddin. (2025). A Nation in the Grip of Dengue: How Climate, Pollution, and Urbanization Are Feeding a Relentless Killer-The Mosquito, Journal of BioMed Research and Reports, BioRes Scientia Publishers. 9(2):1-3. DOI: 10.59657/2837-4681.brs.25.220

Copyright: © 2025 Abdul Kader Mohiuddin, this is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Received: November 17, 2025 | Accepted: December 02, 2025 | Published: December 10, 2025

Abstract

Each year, mosquitoes wage a silent yet devastating war—infecting nearly 700 million people and claiming more than a million lives across the globe.

Keywords:

Introduction

The toll of mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika is staggering: over the past five decades, across 166 countries, they have exacted an economic burden of nearly $100 billion. Between 2013 and 2022 alone, these costs surged fourteen-fold [1]—escalating far faster than global investments in prevention and control.

Editorial

The global epidemic of dengue is believed to have emerged in Asia and the Pacific region during and following World War II. While malaria continues to exact its heaviest toll in Africa—where more than 90 percent of global cases and deaths occur, primarily in sub-Saharan nations—Asia bears the greatest burden of dengue, accounting for nearly 70 percent of worldwide cases. Southeast Asia, in particular, records the highest incidence, as reported by the British Medical Journal [2]. Although the COVID-19 pandemic momentarily disrupted this trajectory, the sharp resurgence of dengue infections in its aftermath highlights the disease’s persistent and formidable threat across the region.

A Nature journal study projects that nearly three out of every five people on Earth could face the threat of dengue by 2080 [3]. The World Health Organization (WHO) further warns that dengue already triggers up to 400 million infections annually, casting its long shadow over nearly half of humanity. Over the past fifty years, this mosquito-borne scourge has escalated with alarming speed—its prevalence soaring thirtyfold, and one in every five severe cases ending in death [4]. By 2024, dengue had reached an unprecedented global peak, infecting more than fourteen million people—twice the figure recorded the previous year and twelve times higher than a decade ago.

In 2024, South Asia faced its deadliest dengue outbreak on record, with Bangladesh and India reporting thousands of deaths as hospitals struggled to cope. Alarmingly, between 2023 and the second week of November 2025, over half a million people in Bangladesh were infected, resulting in more than 2,500 fatalities. Hospitalizations surged sharply, quadrupling from June to October, with more than 68,400 admissions nationwide and roughly 2,800 patients still undergoing treatment at month’s end.

The 2023 outbreak was especially severe, with women accounting for 57% of deaths compared with 43% among men. By November 2025, however, this trend had shifted: men now represented more than 60% of infections and the majority of fatalities (53%). Across both years, dengue continued to take a disproportionate toll on younger populations. Of the 307 deaths reported by mid-November 2025, more than half occurred among young people.

Bangladesh’s recent dengue outbreaks, driven by changing climate patterns, rapid urban growth, dense populations, and limited public awareness, have placed extreme pressure on the country’s health system and economy. From January to October, Dhaka reported just over one-quarter of all infections but nearly two-thirds of fatalities. Although many blamed heavy rainfalls for the 2025 surge, a study in Dhaka found dengue cases actually dropped with higher rainfall and sunshine—challenging the popular belief that weather alone drives the epidemic [5].

Global warming has created a perfect storm for mosquito-borne diseases, accelerating their spread at every stage. Rapid urbanization worsens the threat, as shrinking green spaces become breeding hubs. In the Brazilian Amazon, clearing just one square kilometer of forest led to 27 more malaria cases [6]. Dhaka shows a similar trend—losing over half its greenery since 1989, with its heat index rising 65

References

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