Mortality trend by dengue in Mexico 1980 to 2009

To describe the mortality of dengue in Mexico during 1980 to 2009.

Dengue mortality data for Mexico were obtained from Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Geografía e Informática. We used standardized and non-standardized dengue mortality rates per 1,000,000 people and determined the mortality trend. The groups were based on International Classification of Diseases coding criteria (ICD-9 E061 and ICD-10 A91X). The results were stratified by age groups and the frequencies of dengue deaths were compared using relative risk (RR) with its 95% confidence interval.

During 1980 to 2009 in Mexico, 549 deaths due to dengue were reported. We found an important variation in the mortality rates during the years studied. We were able to identify three periods: 1980 to 1992, 1994 to 2000, and 2001 to 2009. The mortality rates found are from 0.88/1,000,000 through 0.00/1,000,000. The average mortality rates by decade: 1980 to 1989: 0.53/1,000,000; 1990 to 1999: 0.06/1,000,000; 2000 to 2009: 0.12/1,000,000. In the analysis of mortality by community size during 2000 to 2009, we observed in the small communities with < 2,499 people, the risk is 1.25 times higher than in those with more than 20,000 people.

We found, in general, a sustained decline in the number of deaths by dengue over the last 30 years in Mexico. However, a slow increase was observed since 1994, which may be related to the circulation of DENV2 and DENV3, among other factors. We need to strengthen prevention programs in smaller communities (< 2,499) where we found a higher risk of mortality due to dengue.