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As countries in the Americas usher in a severe dengue season, coffee industry will face staffing shortages

Published: 2026-02-25 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/02/25, The number of dengue cases reported in the first three months of this year in the Americas has tripled as global temperatures and extreme weather, according to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the Americas disease control agency, is likely to experience its worst dengue epidemic season to date. With the number of cases

Recently, due to rising global temperatures and extreme weather beans, the number of dengue fever cases reported in the first three months of this year in the Americas has surged, three times that of the same period last year, and is likely to suffer the worst dengue epidemic season to date, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), an agency for disease prevention and control in the Americas. With the increase of the number of cases, there is a serious temporary labor shortage in coffee and other planting industry, and the shortage of human capital is becoming increasingly prominent.

The director of PAHO said that as of March 16 this year, the number of dengue fever cases in the American continent was three times that of the same period last year, causing more than 1,000 deaths, with the worst dengue fever outbreaks in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, as well as increasing cases in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Mexico.

According to statistics, the number of dengue cases (including suspected cases) nationwide in Brazil has finally reached 2.32 million, an increase of 55000 cases in nearly one day, while the number of deaths is 758. In Guatemala, it was announced earlier that 6760 cases of dengue fever have been reported, including 31 severe cases and 3 deaths. In total, more than 3.5 million people have been confirmed to be infected with dengue virus in the Americas, with more than 1000 deaths.

In addition, the President of PAHO pointed out that there are multiple factors contributing to the increase in the dengue epidemic, of which environmental causes are the most relevant, especially the frequent extreme weather in the Americas in the first few months of this year, such as rising temperatures, heat waves, drought or heavy rain, which are prone to mosquito breeding. Given the dire situation, PAHO called on all countries to support dengue prevention efforts and step up efforts to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, which is currently the main measure to prevent dengue fever, as the dengue vaccine is still at a very early stage and production is very limited.

Dengue fever is an acute infectious disease caused by dengue virus, which is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes. Typical symptoms include persistent fever, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, etc., and can be fatal in severe cases. Therefore, public or private hospitals in many countries and regions are now overcrowded because of the dengue fever epidemic. Therefore, people in the coffee industry are very worried about this, all because it is approaching April and is in the harvest period of coffee berries in the new production season in Brazil and Guatemala. If dengue fever is still prevalent, there will be a shortage of manpower. And it is recently in the Easter and Saint week holidays, while coffee growers are also worried about the labor shortage in the coffee picking season. One coffee grower said The coffee picking season is approaching, but it is difficult to hire pickers, which may have an impact on the coffee harvest.

In addition, public health emergencies have been declared in many places due to the recent surge in dengue cases. Therefore, the Chinese Consulate in Brazil has issued a circular reminding Chinese citizens in Brazil to pay close attention to the early warning information issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, take relevant precautions, and frequently use mosquito repellent when going out, so as to avoid staying in places with more mosquitoes.