Paraguay's Dengue Outbreak Now Includes DENV-3

A recent change has been reported in the Republic of Paraguay's multi-year Dengue virus outbreak. Over the past 37 years, all four Dengue serotypes of the mosquito-transmitted virus have been recorded. 

Recently, DENV-1 and 2 have been identified as the sources of Parauay's outbreaks.

However, as of March 2025, DENV-3 reappeared in the country after almost a decade of absence.

According to the recent weekly report of Health Surveillance, the first two cases of DENV-3 have been confirmed in Paraguay. This finding concerns public health as DENV-3 has been reported to be more infectious than the other subtypes.

Paraguay has been considered a Dengue endemic country by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) since 2009, meaning that the virus circulates throughout the year, with peaks generally occurring between March and April and a decline in May.

Following a record-setting 2024, Paraguay has already reported 7,487 Dengue cases in 2025.

To notify international travelers of this health risk, the U.S. CDC recently updated a Global Travel Health Advisory and identified more than expected Dengue cases among travelers returning to the U.S., such as in Florida.

In 2024, about 1 million travelers visited Paraguay.

According to the PAHO, Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease. Approved vaccines are available in various countries but not the United States.