Dengue is a systemic viral infection transmitted between humans by Aedes mosquitoes. For some patients, dengue is a life-threatening illness. There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics, and substantial vector control efforts have not stopped its rapid emergence and global spread. The contemporary worldwide distribution of the risk of dengue virus infection and its public health burden are poorly known.

A comparison of a recently published evidence-based map of the distribution of the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite with data from 1900, before the introduction of major malaria control measures, suggests that concerns that rising temperatures are a threat to malaria control efforts are misplaced.