Dengue in Cape Verde: Children Hit Hardest by Epidemic
A recent study published in the Public Health Bulletin has revealed that children and adolescents accounted for 57% of all dengue hospitalizations at Cape Verde’s primary health facility between 2023 and 2025. The data, collected from the Agostinho Neto University Hospital (HUAN), underscores the heavy toll the recent epidemic took on the country’s younger population.
Epidemic Peaks and Hotspots
The hospital treated 476 patients for dengue during this period. The crisis reached its zenith between July and October 2024, with admissions peaking in October. The capital city of Praia was the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for 78.4% of all hospitalized patients. Within the city, the neighborhoods of Achadinha, Safende, and Ponta d’Água were identified as the most severely affected areas.
Symptom Profiles and Clinical Outcomes
Clinical data showed that fever was the most prevalent symptom, affecting 84.5% of patients. Other common symptoms included nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, abdominal pain, and mucosal bleeding. Despite the severity of the outbreak, the recovery rate remained high: 99.2% of patients were successfully stabilized and discharged. However, the study confirmed four deaths within the hospital during this timeframe.
Protecting the Vulnerable: Recommendations for the Future
The report urges health authorities to intensify disease monitoring ahead of and during the rainy season (July to November), with a specific focus on high-risk neighborhoods. Key recommendations include:
- Improving the accuracy and detail of clinical records.
- Prioritizing early identification of high-risk patients, particularly children presenting with fevers.
- Expanding health service capacity to handle surges in demand.
- Launching community-wide information campaigns to raise awareness.
The researchers also called for broader studies that include community cases—those who suffered from the virus but did not seek hospital treatment—to better understand the full scale of the epidemic.
National Impact
The latest dengue epidemic in Cape Verde spanned from November 2023 to March 2025. While the islands of Santiago and Fogo bore the brunt of the crisis, the outbreak left a mark nationwide, resulting in approximately 19,000 recorded infections and eight total deaths.
Image: Pexels – Th2city Santana
