Dengue fever in Sudan: its epidemiological transformation and control efforts over the past decade amidst the ongoing war

Abstract

This invited editorial reviews the transformation of dengue in Sudan over the past decade, from a disease of the eastern cities of Port Sudan and Kassala to a nationwide public health challenge established in at least eleven States. It describes the shift towards hyperendemic circulation of all four virus serotypes, the spread of Aedes albopictus, and the persistent challenges of diagnosis, dengue–malaria co-infection and limited laboratory capacity.

It links the recent expansion and severity of outbreaks to the war that began in April 2023, through mass displacement and the collapse of public health infrastructure, and introduces the study on platelet count and platelet distribution width among dengue patients in Kassala State published in this issue.

The full text of this editorial is available in the PDF and HTML versions.