Episode Details

The disease dengue is spreading across the Western Hemisphere in numbers not seen since record-keeping began in 1980. Experts are warning that rising temperatures and growing cities are increasing the rate of infection. 

登革热正在西半球蔓延，其数量是自 1980 年有记录以来从未有过的。专家警告说，气温上升和城市扩张正在增加感染率。 

More than 4 million cases have been reported throughout the Americas and the Caribbean so far this year, breaking a record set in 2019. Officials from the Bahamas to Brazil are warning of crowded health centers and new infections daily. Reports say there have been more than 2,000 deaths across the wide area. 

今年迄今为止，美洲和加勒比地区已报告超过 400 万例病例，打破了 2019 年创下的纪录。从巴哈马到巴西，官员们都在警告卫生中心拥挤和每天新增感染病例。 报道称，该地区已有2000多人死亡。 

Thais dos Santos is with the Pan American Health Organization, the area office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas. She said diseases like dengue, “provide us a really good sentinel of what is happening with climate change." 

Thais dos Santos 在泛美卫生组织工作，该组织是世界卫生组织 (WHO) 美洲地区办事处。 她说，像登革热这样的疾病“为我们提供了一个很好的哨兵，让我们了解气候变化正在发生的情况。” 

A lack of good sanitation and strong health systems have added to the rise in cases. But experts say droughts and floods linked to climate change are causing greater spread of the virus. That is because stored water and heavy rains appeal to mosquitoes. 

缺乏良好的卫生设施和强大的卫生系统加剧了病例的增加。 但专家表示，与气候变化有关的干旱和洪水正在导致病毒更广泛的传播。 这是因为积水和大雨会吸引蚊子。 

Dr. Gabriela Paz-Bailey is chief of the dengue branch for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Puerto Rico. She noted that higher temperatures also are expanding the mosquito's habitat and helping the virus develop faster inside the mosquito. That leads to higher viral loads and a higher chance of transmission. 

加布里埃拉·帕斯·贝利 (Gabriela Paz-Bailey) 博士是美国疾病控制与预防中心波多黎各登革热分部的负责人。 她指出，较高的温度也扩大了蚊子的栖息地，并帮助病毒在蚊子体内更快地生长。 这会导致更高的病毒载量和更高的传播机会。 

This year’s Northern Hemisphere summer was the hottest ever, with August about 1.5 degrees C