Dengue is the most rapidly spreading vector-borne disease with serious public health consequences, resulting in higher morbidity than any other vector-borne viral disease. The global incidence has increased by 30-folds in the past 50 years, and more than half of world’s population are currently at risk of getting dengue. The recent research estimates that there are 390 million dengue infections worldwide every year (95% credible interval 284–528 million), of which 96 million (67–136 million) manifests clinically with varying degree of severity. Although dengue is primarily a tropical disease, it has become great concern in countries with temperate climates because of increasing number of imported cases in recent years as a result of increased frequency of travel and the introduction of exotic vector adapted to a cold climate.

In Bhutan, dengue viruses have been continuously circulating since its first report in 2004, and geographically expanding to other areas in recent years. The continuous occurrence of dengue and increasing incidence of severity has raised the need to have better understanding of the determinants of dengue to develop effective surveillance and control measures. The control methods need to be aligned with the existing knowledge on epidemiology and challenges associated with the disease and vector control. My thesis is aimed to explore the entomological and epidemiological characteristics of dengue including the cost of dengue control in Bhutan.

About Tsheten

Tsheten is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Global Health at RSPH. He completed his B.Sc. Allied Health Sciences from India (2005-2010) and Master in Public Health from Thailand (2015-2016). Prior to undertaking PhD, he has previously worked in Royal Centre for Disease Control as a researcher/epidemiologist. His research interests include infectious diseases, outbreak investigation and spatial epidemiology.