Madeira, Portugal: Increased cases of Dengue Infection confirmed by Public Health Authority

The Autonomous Region of Madeira constituted the first known occurrence of locally transmitted dengue infection on the island on 3 October 2012 when the Public Health Authority of Portugal reported two cases of dengue infection in residents. These infections in patients residing in Madeira mark the first sustained transmission of dengue in the European Union since the 1920s. Local transmission of dengue infection has been now established for several weeks on Madeira and as of 11 November 2012, the Portuguese Ministry of Health reported 1 357 cases of dengue infection from the public health sector in Madeira. 669 of these cases were laboratory confirmed, 688 probable cases. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 89 patients were hospitalised and five currently remain in hospital. So far, 25 patients have been diagnosed with dengue after returning from the island: cases were reported from mainland Portugal (nine), the UK (six), Germany (seven), Sweden (one) and France (two). Read article