Yemen’s health workers race to halt latest outbreak of deadly dengue fever

Mukalla, Yemen – Under the scorching prima and done heady humidity, Salem bin Shabz and his squad of wellness workers determination dilatory done the constrictive alleyways of Al-Koud, a densely populated slum successful Yemen’s larboard metropolis of Mukalla.

Every clip they spot a excavation of stagnant water, they halt and inspect the puddle. Armed with dippers and illustration containers, they are connected the hunt for mosquito breeding grounds amid an outbreak of the deadly dengue fever.

Makalla has go 1 of Yemen’s worst-hit areas for dengue fever, a viral corruption dispersed by mosquito bites that tin origin fevers, headaches, assemblage aches, nausea, and successful terrible cases, death.

Bin Shabz kneels beside an unfastened drainage enclosure wherever a puddle of stagnant water, discharged from a household aerial conditioner, has turned greenish aft lasting for weeks.

He dips a ladle into the h2o and pours the contents into a shallow metallic tray. Within seconds, tiny larvae statesman wriggling crossed the surface.

“These are mosquito larvae,” bin Shabz, an insect surveillance serviceman astatine the provincial bureau of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), told Al Jazeera.

“This benignant is Anopheles, which transmits malaria, portion the different is Aedes, the mosquito that spreads dengue fever. We cod the larvae, spot them successful containers and place them earlier taking the indispensable power measures.”

The find confirms the team’s fears: Al-Koud has erstwhile again go a breeding crushed for some dengue and malaria mosquitoes, contempt repeated campaigns to power the dispersed of the insects.

Mosquito larvae collected from stagnant h2o successful a slum country of Mukalla. Health workers accidental the larvae make into mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever and malaria [Saeed Al-Batati/Al Jazeera]

“We carried retired mosquito power campaigns successful this country 2 months ago, combining nationalist awareness, insecticide spraying and efforts to destruct breeding sites,” bin Shabz says. “Now we’ve returned and recovered galore of the aforesaid breeding sites inactive exist.”

After draining the chamber, the squad presses deeper into the neighbourhood. Minutes later, they halt extracurricular different location wherever an uncovered h2o retention vessel sits beside the entrance. Bin Shabz lowers a long-handled dipper into the vessel and transfers different illustration into a metallic tray.

“The vessel is infested with some malaria and dengue larvae,” bin Shabz confirms. He asks a radical of funny children to fetch the homeowner truthful helium tin explicate the dangers of leaving the h2o vessel exposed and screen the container. “A elemental measurement similar covering the vessel would assistance support his household and their neighbours from dengue fever,” helium said.

To his disappointment, the homeowner is not there, truthful bin Shabz leaves a connection with neighbours. But the mosquito breeding tract volition stay untouched until the proprietor tin beryllium reached.

“People are not cooperating with us,” helium said. “In municipality areas, galore residents are inactive dormant erstwhile we transportation retired our greeting inspections, portion others are distant from their homes. Whenever we place a breeding site, we talk to the homeowner, explicate the risks and counsel them however to destruct it.”

Anti-dengue fever

The vector power squad successful Mukalla is 1 portion of a nationwide run crossed government-controlled areas of Yemen to curb a caller outbreak of dengue fever. The run combines the surveillance of mosquito breeding sites with nationalist consciousness campaigns, insecticide spraying, larval control, and grooming wellness workers to diagnose and dainty dengue cases successful hospitals and section wellness centres.

According to the Aden-based Electronic Integrated Disease Early Warning System (eIDEWS), which monitors illness outbreaks crossed government-controlled areas of Yemen, 7,815 suspected dengue cases and 33 deaths were recorded betwixt January 4 and July 18, 2026. Hadramout was the hardest-hit governorate, reporting 2,204 cases, followed by Aden (1,639), Abyan (962), Shabwa (951) and Taiz (770).

The dengue fever outbreak has placed further strain connected Yemen’s already fragile healthcare system, which has been pushed to the brink of illness by years of war, chronic underfunding and repeated outbreaks of disease.

Thousands of suspected dengue patients person sought attraction astatine hospitals crossed Aden, Taiz, Abyan and Hadramout, forcing overstretched wellness workers to header with the surge contempt constricted resources.

Mohammed Omer, caput of the laboratory astatine the government-run Ibn Sina Hospital successful Mukalla, recalled that astatine the tallness of the outbreak successful May, the infirmary received much than 60 suspected dengue cases successful a azygous day. It placed an tremendous load connected the hospital’s exigency department, which serves patients from Hadramout, Shabwa and Al Mahra governorates.

“During 1 24-hour shift, we utilized 1 and a fractional boxes of dengue investigating kits to process samples from 65 suspected dengue patients,” Omer told Al Jazeera.

“Patients travel to our infirmary due to the fact that we supply escaped services, including laboratory testing, consultations and inpatient care,” helium said.

Despite the availability of escaped services, galore patients inactive arrived astatine the infirmary successful captious condition, often due to the fact that they delayed seeking treatment. Financial hardship prevents immoderate from travelling to the hospital, portion others initially dismissed their symptoms arsenic an mean fever.

Mohammed Omer, caput of the laboratory astatine the government-run Ibn Sina Hospital successful Mukalla, said his laboratory handled much than 60 suspected dengue fever cases astatine the highest of the outbreak successful May [Saeed Al-Batati/Al Jazeera]

“Many arrived precocious due to the fact that they could not spend treatment, portion others assumed it was conscionable a passing fever and lone sought aesculapian assistance aft it developed into terrible dengue with bleeding symptoms, including nosebleeds. We besides received destitute patients who could not spend medication,” helium said.

Mohammed Salem Hadi, caput of the NMCP office, said anti‑dengue efforts successful Shabwa state proceed to beryllium hampered by constricted funding, debased nationalist consciousness and patients delaying attraction until their information becomes critical. These are challenges communal crossed overmuch of Yemen.

“Many patients bash not question aesculapian attraction until they make terrible dengue with haemorrhagic complications. This is often due to the fact that they unrecorded acold from wellness facilities, oregon due to the fact that the illness is initially misdiagnosed arsenic different illness,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Challenges successful tackling dengue fever

The recurring dengue outbreaks person raised questions astir wherefore Yemen continues to conflict to incorporate dengue oregon trim the fig of deaths caused by the disease.

Health experts and front-line workers enactment this down to a operation of factors, including the quality of the mosquito that transmits the virus, years of struggle that person weakened the country’s healthcare system, inadequate vector-control programmes, mediocre sanitation and stagnant water. There is besides the situation for wellness workers of constricted nationalist consciousness astir dengue prevention and the value of seeking aboriginal treatment.

Abdulla bin Ghouth, a prof of assemblage medicine astatine Hadramout University, said dengue fever has go endemic successful Yemen and that the country’s conflict to incorporate the illness is mostly owed to its biologic characteristics.

“There is nary circumstantial attraction for dengue fever; attraction focuses connected managing symptoms and replacing mislaid fluids. There is besides nary circumstantial vaccine disposable for prevention,” helium told Al Jazeera. “These factors, unneurotic with biology conditions specified arsenic household h2o retention and precocious humidity, marque the illness hard to control.”

As helium and his colleagues battalion distant their instrumentality and caput disconnected to hunt for different mosquito breeding site, bin Shabz acknowledges that eliminating the insects is an tremendous challenge.

Mosquito breeding sites are often hidden oregon hard to access, helium said, but Yemen’s economical illness and deteriorating nationalist services person made the occupation acold worse.

“Many radical cannot spend to physique high-quality, decently sealed h2o tanks, truthful they trust connected poorly constructed, uncovered tanks oregon adjacent unfastened ponds to store water,” helium said. “Water shortages person forced galore radical to store h2o astatine home, creating perfect breeding sites for mosquitoes.”