International
The US warns of the threat of dengue in the country after cases skyrocketed in the world
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are alerting doctors and local health authorities, especially in the southern U.S., about the threat of dengue in the country after the disease skyrocketed globally.
“Althog there are currently no reports of an outbreak in the continental area of the United States, cases around the world have increased at an alarming rate,” Gabriela Paz-Bailey, director of the CDC’s Dengue Office, based in Atlanta, Georgia, told EFE.
According to data from the agency, so far this year a total of 2,241 cases have been reported in the United States, an increase compared to 2023, taking into account that 3,036 were registered throughout the year.
Photograph of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, responsible for the transmission of dengue. EFE/Andre Borges
Of the total number of cases so far in 2024, 1,498 were counted in Puerto Rico, where local authorities declared a state of emergency in March after registering historical figures of this disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, also a carrier of Chikunguña, yellow fever and Zika.
“The increase in travel during the summer to places where dengue is common can lead to greater local transmission in the United States, so it is important for health professionals to test patients who have a fever and have traveled to places where dengue is frequent,” Paz-Bailey said.
Therefore, the epidemiologist urges those who travel to these countries to use repellent, because they want to prevent them from returning with the virus and it from spreading in the United States, since the mosquito is present in several states of the country, especially in the south.
“This imports of the virus by case of dengue in travelers can result in it being transmitted locally, although they are generally short chains of transmission and outbreaks that can be controlled, they are not the explosive outbreaks we see in Puerto Rico,” Paz-Bailey stressed.
Historically, local cases have been reported in Hawaii, Florida and Texas, and have recently been reported in Arizona and California, according to the director of the Dengue Office.
“But where we expect there to be more possibilities of transmission is in the southern United States, where the Aedes aegypti mosquito exists, and Florida has been one of the states that has reported the most locally acquired cases,” said the expert, who assures that heat is a factor that is contributing to the increase in cases globally.
Paz-Bailey explains that the mosquito is now present in areas where it could not survive before because the temperatures were lower. Likewise, hurricanes, floods and other “extreme phenomena” generate favorable conditions to generate breeding sites for these insects and thus multiply.
According to the CDC, approximately one in four people infected with the dengue virus – for which there is no specific drug to treat – get sick and some of them suffer from serious symptoms that can be life-threatening in a few hours, so hospitalization is required.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
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