title: Epidemiological Characteristics of Dengue Disease in Latin America and in the Caribbean: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
abstract: Dengue, an important mosquito-borne virus transmitted mainly byAedes aegypti, is a major public health issue in Latin America and the Caribbean. National epidemiological surveillance systems, usually based on passive detection of symptomatic cases, while underestimating the true burden of dengue disease, can provide valuable insight into disease trends and excess reporting and potential outbreaks. We carried out a systematic review of the literature to characterize the recent epidemiology of dengue disease in Latin America and the English-speaking and Hispanic Caribbean Islands. We identified 530 articles, 60 of which met criteria for inclusion. In general, dengue seropositivity across the region was high and increased with age. All four virus serotypes were reported to circulate in the region. These observations varied considerably between and within countries and over time, potentially due to climatic factors (temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity) and their effect on mosquito densities and differences in socioeconomic factors. This review provides important insight into the major epidemiological characteristics of dengue in distinct regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, allowing gaps in current knowledge and future research needs to be identified.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Jaime Rafael
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Medicina Tropical y Medicina del Viajero, Hospital de Infecciosas F. J. Muñiz, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Tomás Agustín
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Orduna
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Servicios de Información, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública de México, Cuernavaca, MOR, Mexico.
authors.forename: Maricela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piña-Pozas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Servicios de Información, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública de México, Cuernavaca, MOR, Mexico.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Vega
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiología, Sanofi Pasteur LATAM, Coyoacán, CDMX, Mexico.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6811-603X
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarti