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Volume 25, Number 8—August 2019
Historical Review

Lessons Learned from Dengue Surveillance and Research, Puerto Rico, 1899–2013

Tyler M. SharpComments to Author , Kyle R. Ryff, Gilberto A. Santiago, Harold S. Margolis, and Stephen H. Waterman
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA (T.M. Sharp, K.R. Ryff, G.A. Santiago, H.S. Margolis, S.H. Waterman); US Public Health Service, Rockville, Maryland, USA (T.M. Sharp, S.H. Waterman)

Main Article

Table 1

Dengue outbreaks and epidemics, Puerto Rico, 1899–2013*

Year(s) DENV(s)† No. reported suspected cases (cases/1,000 pop) Most affected age group(s), y† No. reported DHF cases
(DHF cases/1,000 dengue cases) Reported dengue-related deaths (deaths/1,000 dengue cases) Reference
1899 Unknown “Some” NA NA NA (3)
1915 Unknown Hundreds or thousands (≈20) <10 NA 0 (0) (1)
1963 3 ≈27,000 (NA) 20–29, 30–39, 10–19 0 NA (6,7)
1969 2 16,665 (NA) 30–49 0 0 (8)
1977 2, 3, 1 12,733 (3.75) 15–19, 20–29, 10–14 0 0 (9)
1978–1979 1, 2, 3 12,314 (3.63) 15–19, 20–29, 10–14 0 0 ‡
1981–1982 1, 4 ≈17,160 (NA) NA NA 5 (≈0.3) ‡
1986 4, 1, 2 10,659 (NA) 6–15, 31–45, <1 29§ (27§) 3§ (0.3) (10)
1994–1995 2, 4, 1 24,700 (7.0) 15–19, 10–14, 20–24 152 (6.2) 40 (1.6) (11)
1998 4, 1, 2, 3 17,000 (4.8) 10–19, <1 174 (10.2) 56 (3.3) (12)
2007 3, 2, 1, 4 10,508 (2.7) 10–14, 15–19, <1 227 (21.6) 40 (3.8) (13)
2010 1, 4, 2, 3 26,766 (7.2) 10–14, 15–19, 5–9 448 (16.7) 128 (4.8) (14)
2012–2013 1, 4, 2, 3 30,921 (8.6) 10–14, 15–19, <1 11 (0.4) 199 (6.4) ‡

*DENV, dengue virus; DHF, dengue hemorrhagic fever; NA, data not available; pop, population.
†In order of relative frequency.
‡Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Puerto Rico Department of Health, unpub. data.
§Laboratory-positive cases; number of suspected cases not available.

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The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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