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

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that health teams in Mukalla, a port city in Yemen’s Hadramout governorate, are working to contain a renewed dengue fever outbreak by searching for mosquito breeding sites in crowded neighbourhoods such as Al-Koud. The report follows Salem bin Shabz, an insect surveillance officer with the National Malaria Control Programme, as his team checks stagnant water in drainage chambers and uncovered storage tanks, where larvae linked to dengue-spreading Aedes mosquitoes and malaria-spreading Anopheles mosquitoes were found.

The response in government-controlled parts of Yemen includes inspections, public education, spraying insecticide, larval control and training health staff to identify and treat dengue. Citing the Aden-based Electronic Integrated Disease Early Warning System, Al Jazeera says 7,815 suspected dengue cases and 33 deaths were recorded from January 4 to July 18, 2026. Hadramout had the largest reported caseload, followed by Aden, Abyan, Shabwa and Taiz.

Hospitals are also under pressure. Mohammed Omer, head of the laboratory at Mukalla’s government-run Ibn Sina Hospital, told Al Jazeera the facility handled more than 60 suspected cases in one day during the peak in May. He said some patients arrived late because they could not afford care or travel, or because they initially treated symptoms as an ordinary fever.

The outbreak matters because Yemen’s health system remains weakened by years of war, underfunding and recurring disease outbreaks. Al Jazeera cited health workers and experts who pointed to poor sanitation, standing water, low public awareness, delayed treatment and the biology of dengue itself as obstacles to control. A Hadramout University community medicine professor said treatment mainly manages symptoms and fluids, while environmental conditions such as water storage and humidity help the disease persist.