The author of today’s post, John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist at Environmental Defense.
In the past when I gave talks about dengue fever, I’d say it was a problem in Mexico, but relatively rare over the border in Texas. I need to update my slides. Following an outbreak of dengue fever in Brownsville, Texas, health investigators found that 38 percent of the town was at risk for the most dangerous form of the illness.
This is a big deal, and global warming may well play a role.