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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1458166
This article is part of the Research Topic Transmission and Infection of Arboviruses – Volume II View all 3 articles

The global incidence and trends of three common flavivirus infections (Dengue, Yellow fever, and Zika) from 2011 to 2021

Provisionally accepted
Xingzhu Dai Xingzhu Dai 1Yuanhao Liang Yuanhao Liang 2,3*
  • 1 Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • 2 Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
  • 3 Jiangmen Central Hospital, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Flavivirus pose a continued threat to global health, yet their worldwide burden and trends remain poorly quantified. We aimed to evaluate the global, regional, and national incidence of three common flavivirus infections (Dengue, Yellow fever, and Zika) from 2011 to 2021. Methods: Data on the number and rate of incidence for the three common flavivirus infection in 204 countries and territories were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. The estimated annual percent change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify the temporal trend during 2011-2016, 2016-2019, and 2019-2021, respectively. Results: In 2021, an estimated 59,220,428 individuals were infected globally, comprising 58,964,185 cases of dengue, 86,509 cases of yellow fever, and 169,734 cases of Zika virus infection. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of the three common flavivirus infections increased by an annual average of 5.08% (95% CI 4.12 to 6.05) globally from 2011 to 2016, whereas decreased by an annual average of −8.37% (95% CI −12.46 to −4.08) per year between 2016 to 2019. The ASIR remained stable during 2019-2021, with an average change of 0.69% (95% CI −0.96 to 2.37) per year globally for the three common flavivirus infections. Regionally, the burden of the three common flavivirus infections was primarily concentrated in those regions with middle income, such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Tropical Latin America. Additionally, at the country level, there was an inverted “U” relationship between the SDI level and the ASI. Notably, an increase in the average age of infected cases has been observed worldwide, particularly in higher-income regions. Conclusions: Flavivirus infections are an expanding public health concern worldwide, with considerable regional and demographic variation in the incidence. Policymakers and healthcare providers must stay vigilant regarding the impact of COVID-19 and other environmental factors on the risk of flavivirus infection and be prepared for potential future outbreaks.

    Keywords: Global burden of disease, Flavivirus Infections, Dengue, Yellow Fever, Zika infection, Age-standardized incidence rate, Estimated annual percentage change Importance

    Received: 02 Jul 2024; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dai and Liang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yuanhao Liang, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

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