CDC

Health advisory: Rising dengue cases and new testing guidelines in the U.S.

March 18, 2025

CDC has issued a Health Alert Network update highlighting the ongoing risk of dengue virus infections in the U.S. Dengue activity remains high, particularly in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. With a 15% increase in dengue cases compared with the previous five-year average, HCPs are urged to stay vigilant, especially during peak travel seasons.

Recommendations for clinicians

• Review and be familiar with the recommendations for HCPs in the June 2024 HAN (CDCHAN-00511) on dengue in the U.S. This includes information about reporting cases, clinical presentation and care (including severe dengue), vaccination, testing, and patient outreach.
• Take a thorough travel history for patients presenting with acute febrile illness as initial clinical presentation is similar among many vector-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and Oropouche.
• Advise patients who plan to travel to take steps to prevent mosquito bites during travel and for 3 weeks after returning, especially if traveling to an area with frequent or continuous dengue transmission.
• Continue to have increased suspicion of dengue among people with fever who have been in areas with frequent or continuous dengue transmission within 14 days before illness onset.
• Patients with suspected dengue infection should be tested with RT-PCR (i.e., a nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT]) or an NS1 antigen test, as well as with an IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibody test.
  These tests can be considered regardless of the symptom onset date, although the sensitivity of RT-PCR and NS1 antigen tests decrease after the first 7 days of symptoms.If the patient tests negative for dengue, consider testing for other infectious diseases that might be occurring in the location where the patient was likely exposed.

Source:

(2025, March 18). CDC. Ongoing Risk of Dengue Virus Infections and Updated Testing Recommendations in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/han/2025/han00523.html