UAE Seeing Surge In Dengue Cases Following Flooding As Infections Spike Worldwide

The AP (7/24, Wakin) reports, “Since the United Arab Emirates witnessed its heaviest recorded rainfall ever three months ago, the desert nation has issued a multitude of warnings about dengue which, activists say, has surged and struck hardest among the vast populations of laborers.” The sluggish “cleanup of flooded areas in industrial sites has worsened the spread of the disease among laborers, some of whom have left their home countries already affected by climate change for a chance to earn money in the UAE, according to a report issued by FairSquare, a London-based group focused on labor rights in the Gulf Arab states.” Dengue “has witnessed a worldwide spike,” with the WHO declaring “it an emergency in December as cases have globally increased tenfold over the last generation.”