Dengue, monkeypox, abnormal Covid-19 vaccine coverage: Health threats which are in store in 2024

The number of people who are in high-risk groups and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide is deplorable, as per a warning by the WHO or World Health Organization, in a message surrounding global health threats in the year 2024.

The JN. 1 coronavirus strain has newly emerged along with the concerns about monkeypox in central Africa, and the spread of diseases carried by mosquitos in newer countries, because of climate change.

According to Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, who is an expert on contagious diseases, the increasing number of Covid cases is not a surprise. She states how there has been no occurrence of COVID-19 on a periodic level, but about the other respiratory illnesses, we can witness their rise in the months of winter and autumn in temperate areas.


This is the reason for vaccination campaigns starting a little early for COVID-19, and influenza, with the target group being those who are at greater risk of it. However, according to her, the vaccination coverage in the countries constituting the groups who are at risk is very bad.

She says: “The biggest point of disappointment is that solutions are there for everything starting from influenza to COVID-19, which can help to prevent extreme diseases and even death. The question is why are they not being used ?”

Spread of Dengue and Climate Change

At the gathering of global leaders to discuss the fight against climate change previously this month, it was pointed out that global warming is affecting infectious diseases’ spread, as per Dr Van Kerkhove. For instance, Dengue fever is a virus transferred to humans through mosquitoes.

It is perceived that mosquitos that carry dengue virus will become common in England within the 2040s.

Outbreak of monkeypox

An outbreak of monkeypox was also pointed out by Dr Van Kerkhove in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in central Africa. Monkeypox is a disease that is caused by an infection due to the mpox virus which are of two types: Clade I and Clade II.

Clade I has a higher degree of risk of death, with a 10% fatality rate. Clade II is in general lenient and was spreading in Europe according to Dr Van Kerkhove.

Contagious disease in war zones

The Israel–Hamas war and the Ukraine-Russia wars dominate 2024, with a range of other conflicts that are not reported from all across the world.

Medical professionals are at greater risk of getting those infectious diseases, because of the demolition of the homes of the people and the despairing war conditions. It leads to the creation of difficult conditions where people are not nourished enough without any access to proper waste systems and clean water, moreover, they remain cold.

According to Dr Van Kerkhove, the people who feel threatened and scared, will suffer more when there is a spread of infectious diseases.

FAQs:

What are the health threats that have emerged in 2024?
2024 is going to be plagued by new health threats which include the emergence of the JN. 1 coronavirus strain, monkeypox, mosquito carrier diseases, as well as climate change.

What is having an impact on the spread of infectious diseases?
At the gathering of global leaders to discuss the fight against climate change previously this month, it was pointed out that global warming is affecting infectious diseases’ spread, as per Dr Van Kerkhove