[Epidemiology of dengue fever in China since 1978]

Since 1978, dengue fever occurred endemically and epidemically every 4 to 7 years in China, affecting commonly people aged between 20 and 60 years with similar incidences in males and females. Four serotypes of dengue virus have been identified in China, with DENV-1 as the predominant serotype. The incidence of dengue fever became gradually decreased after 1997 but increased significantly in the recent two years, especially in 2014, where, up to November, a total of 44894 cases had been reported in Guangdong Province. In this review, the authors summarize the epidemiology, geographical and population distribution of dengue fever in China since 1978 and analyze the factors contributing to the outbreak in 2014.