<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The World Health Organization warned on Friday that cases of dengue fever could reach close to record highs this year, partly due to global warming benefiting mosquitoes that spread it.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Dengue rates are rising globally, with reported cases since 2000 up eight-fold to 4.2 million in 2022, WHO said.</div><div><br></div><div>The disease was found in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time on record, according to a health ministry report in March, while Europe has reported a surge in cases and Peru declared a state of emergency in most regions.</div><div><br></div><div>In January, WHO warned that dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a “pandemic threat”.</div><div><br></div><div>About half of the world’s population is now at risk, Dr. Raman Velayudhan, a specialist at the WHO’s control of neglected tropical diseases department, told journalists in Geneva on Friday.</div><div><br></div><div>Reported cases to WHO hit an all-time high in 2019 with 5.2 million cases in 129 countries, said Velayudhan via a video link. This year the world is on track for “4 million plus” cases, depending mostly on the Asian monsoon season. Source: Gulf Insider&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>