The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday announced a global plan to battle dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases as they spread faster amid climate change and transitional weather.

"The rapid spread of dengue and other arboviral diseases in recent years is an alarming trend that demands coordinated response across sectors and across borders," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.

Findings

Dengue cases have doubled each year since 2021 with over 12.3 million cases, including more than 7,900 deaths, which were reported in just the first eight months of 2024, said the UN health agency. That is double the 6.5 million cases reported throughout the whole of 2023.

Symptoms

While dengue can cause high fever and body aches, most people do not show any symptoms. The WHO estimated that there are around 100 million and 400 million infections each year.

How It Happens?

Dengue is caused by Aedes aegypti mosquitos and it is only spreading as the planet warms. WHO also stated that factors like unplanned urbanisation, poor water, sanitation, hygiene practices, and international travel have also affected in the rise of dengue cases. It is now an epidemic in over 130 countries, stated WHO.

The other arboviruses include chikungunya and zika. The WHO report states that an estimated of 4 billion people worldwide are at the risk of contracting dengue and other arboviruses. This number is expected to increase to 5 billion by 20250.

WHO plans to foster a coordinated global response, which also includes disease surveillance, laboratory activities, vector control and research and development of improved treatments and effective vaccines. IT also stated that it would require $55 million in funding to implement the plan over the next year.

"For maintaining clean environments to supporting vector control and seeking and providing timely medical care, everyone has a role to play in the fight against dengue." said Tedros. "This plan is a roadmap to turn the tide against this disease and other Aedes-borne arboviral diseases, protect vulnerable populations and pave the way for a healthier future," he said.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda launched indigenously manufactured tetanus and adult diphtheria (Td) vaccine at the Central Research Institute in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli on Saturday. The formal launch of the Td vaccine will now include the vaccine under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). The Central Research Institute will supply 55 lakh doses to the UIP by April. The production is also expected to scale up progressively in subsequent years to further strengthen the Central Government's Universal Immunisation Programme, said Nadda.

Nadda also congratulated the scientists, technical experts and staff of the Central Research Institute Kasauli at the gathering, and described the launch Tb vaccine as a momentous and historic occasion. He also stated that the launch marked a significant step towards safeguarding national health security and strengthening India's public health infrastructure.

The minister also noted that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set clear targets for achieving self-reliance in the health and pharmaceutical sectors. Nadda also said that the launch of the indigenously manufactured Td vaccine represents a concrete step towards the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in health and medicine.

India Is Pharmacy Of The World

He also highlighted the nation's global standing. He said that the minister also stated that India is widely recognized as the "pharmacy of the world" and is among the leading vaccine manufacturers globally.

He also said that India has achieved Maturity Level 3 in the World Health Organization's (WHO) global benchmarking of regulatory systems, reflecting the robustness of its vaccine regulatory framework. Institution like CRI, said Nadda, have also played a major role in achieving these standards.

Read: After Coldrif, WHO Bans 2 More Drugs, But This Is Not the Only Death from Indian Cough Syrup

From Decades Of Research To Digital Vaccination Tracking

The Union Health Minister said that historically, vaccines and medicines took decades to develop. The tetanus vaccine required years of global research, tuberculosis drugs evolved over nearly 30 years, and the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine took close to a century of scientific effort.

In contrast, during the COVID 19 pandemic, India developed two indigenous vaccines within nine months and administered more than 220 crore doses, including boosters. He added that vaccination certificates were issued digitally, reflecting the country’s expanding use of technology in public health delivery.

Highlighting international cooperation, he noted that under the Vaccine Maitri initiative India supplied vaccines to nearly 100 countries, with 48 receiving them free of cost. Public sector institutions such as the Central Research Institute also strengthened the country’s ability to meet both domestic and global demand.

The minister further said the Central Research Institute became the first government facility to manufacture vaccines under Good Manufacturing Practices standards, marking a major step in modernizing public sector vaccine production.

He described the Universal Immunisation Programme as the world’s largest vaccination drive. It currently provides 11 vaccines protecting against 12 preventable diseases, with significant contributions from the institute.

Every year about 2 to 2.5 crore children are born and a similar number of women become pregnant. From pregnancy registration onward, beneficiaries are tracked through digital platforms such as U WIN. Expectant mothers receive five antenatal check ups including at least one by a specialist, and monitoring continues until the child turns 16 years old, covering 27 doses.

The annual immunization cohort includes nearly 5 crore beneficiaries, around 2.5 crore pregnant women and 2.5 crore children. Due to systematic tracking and sustained immunization efforts, vaccine coverage in the country has reached nearly 99 per cent.

Sepsis from dog lick led to a woman undergoing quadruple amputation. Manjit Sangha, a 56-year-old pharmacy worker from Birmingham, England came back home from work and was not feeling well on a Sunday evening in July 2025. Her husband Kam Sangha found her unconscious on the couch and saw her lips were blue, hands and feet were ice cold. Kam, 60, called ambulance and Manjit was rushed to hospital.

"Your mind is all over the place. You're thinking, 'How can this happen in less than 24 hours?' One minute on a Saturday, she is playing with the dog, Sunday she's gone to work, Monday night she is in a coma," he told BBC.

Manjit was rushed to New Cross Hospital and placed in a medically induced coma as her condition deteriorated rapidly. During her stay in intensive care, she suffered six cardiac arrests, with clinicians repeatedly warning her family she might not survive.

Sepsis From Dog Lick: What Led To All This?

Doctors later diagnosed sepsis, a severe and abnormal response of the body to infection. Medical teams believe bacteria may have entered through a small cut or scratch, possibly after contact with her pet dog.

Sepsis occurs when the immune system’s reaction to infection damages the body’s own tissues and organs. It can progress to septic shock, marked by a dangerous drop in blood pressure and failure of organs such as the lungs, kidneys and liver. Without urgent treatment, it can be fatal.

In Manjit’s case, the illness escalated into disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a rare but critical complication in which widespread clotting occurs inside blood vessels. The process blocks circulation and starves tissues of oxygen, often resulting in irreversible damage.

Her family said doctors warned she had only days to live and, if she survived, amputation was likely.

Sepsis From Dog Lick: Amputation To Save Life

As circulation failed in her limbs, surgeons were forced to amputate both legs below the knee and both hands. She later required removal of her spleen after developing pneumonia and gallstones during prolonged hospitalization.

In total, Manjit spent 32 weeks in hospital before her condition stabilised enough for discharge.

Her relatives have since launched a fundraising campaign to support advanced prosthetics, rehabilitation, mental-health care and home adaptations.

“She is mourning the life she had before, where simple tasks were effortless,” the family said, adding they remain focused on helping her regain independence.

Now back home, Manjit says her goal is simple: to walk again and eventually return to work using prosthetic limbs.

She also hopes her experience raises awareness about sepsis, which can begin with seemingly minor symptoms but worsen quickly.

“It could happen to anybody,” she said, urging people not to ignore infections or sudden illness.

Medical experts echo that message: early recognition, including fever, confusion, extreme pain, breathlessness or mottled skin, and immediate treatment dramatically improve survival.

Her family describes her survival as extraordinary. “Every time we thought we’d lost her, she came back fighting,” a relative said.

One in seven stroke patients in India are young adults aged below 45 years, with hypertension leading as the major risk factor, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The study, published in the International Journal of Stroke, showed that two in five patients arrived in the hospital after 24 hours of onset of symptoms, highlighting the need for improving awareness about the first hour (golden hour) in stroke care.

“The findings highlight the gaps in acute stroke care, including delayed hospital arrival, limited access to advanced treatments, and inadequate follow-up services,” said Prashant Mathur, Director, ICMR—National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru, in the paper.

“Stroke continues to pose a major public health burden, with poor outcomes. The study shall contribute to the development of evidence-based comprehensive strategies for stroke prevention, effective management, and improved treatment outcomes,” he added.

What Stroke Patterns Did The Study Find?

The team included 34,792 stroke cases from 30 Hospital-Based Stroke Registries (HBSRs) across India, recorded between 2020 and 2022.

About 64 percent of the stroke patients were males, and 36.6 percent were females.

Stroke in the younger age group (aged below 45 years) constituted 13.8 percent of the total cases. More than 70 per cent of the participants were residents from rural areas.

Hypertension (74.5 percent) was the most common risk factor, followed by smokeless tobacco use (28.5 percent) and diabetes mellitus (27.3 percent).

Ischemic stroke accounted for 60 percent of cases. Only 20.1 percent were presented within 4.5 hours of symptom onset, while 37.8 percent of cases presented after 24 hours.

The commonest symptoms at onset included motor impairment (74.8 percent), followed by speech disturbance (51.2 percent), dysphagia (30.4 percent), and impaired consciousness (25.6 percent).

The study also highlighted substantial disparities in stroke care services. Time-sensitive therapies like thrombolysis were given in 4.6 percent of cases, while thrombectomy was administered in 0.7 percent of ischemic strokes.

At three months, 27.8 percent of patients had died, while nearly 30 percent suffered significant disability, and 1.1 percent had a recurrent stroke. This highlighted the need for improving comprehensive stroke care across India.

Burden Of Stroke In India

Stroke remains one of the leading global health burdens, causing significant deaths and disability worldwide, including in India. Compared to Western countries, stroke also tends to occur at a younger age and is associated with a higher case fatality rate in the country.

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 identified hypertension, air pollution, tobacco smoking, high cholesterol, increased salt intake, and diabetes as the leading risk factors of stroke.

Incidence of stroke is increasing significantly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in India, due to population growth, aging, and greater exposure to risk factors.

The estimated stroke incidence in India ranged from 108 to 172 per 100,000 population, and 1-month case fatality varied from 18 percent to 42 percent.

As per data from the ICMR-NCDIR, India has a crude stroke incidence rate of 138.1 per 100,000 population and an age-standardized case fatality rate of 30 per 100,000 population.