Press release
On ASEAN Dengue Day, the Pasteur Network stands — as one — against dengue
What began as ASEAN Dengue Day has grown into a truly global observance, World Dengue Day, with WHO participation and broad international engagement. Observed each year on 15 June, it raises awareness of dengue, a neglected tropical disease and one of the fastest-spreading infectious conditions worldwide. The disease is caused by the dengue virus, transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, and can range from mild illness to severe, life-threatening conditions. Once largely confined to tropical and subtropical regions, dengue is now expanding into temperate areas. More than half of the world’s population is today at risk, with an estimated 100 to 400 million infections occurring each year across more than 100 countries. There is no specific treatment, making prevention, early detection, and vector control the main lines of defence. Climate change, rapid urbanisation, and global mobility are driving its spread further and faster — and the numbers reflect it: reported cases have grown from around 500,000 at the turn of the century to 14.6 million in 2024 alone.
Against this backdrop, the Pasteur Network — 32 institutes across 25 countries — is one of the leading international scientific forces in the fight against this disease. Today, member institutes across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Euro-Mediterranean region are joining their voices under one message: together against dengue.
PASTEUR NETWORK PROJECTS & INITIATIVES
Collective Action on Dengue (CAD) In 2025, the Pasteur Network was selected as Secretariat of the Collective Action on Dengue, a neutral, multisectoral platform bringing together researchers, policymakers, funders, and implementers to align dengue strategies with climate and urban health agendas. Launched at the World Health Summit in October 2025, CAD is developing a global Call to Action and Investment Framework for dengue prevention. Learn more
Climate & Health Observatory Accelerator Project Co-funded by The Rockefeller Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy, this project supports 18 fellows across 16 countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to integrate climate data into public health systems, alongside three model observatory institutes in Brazil, Senegal, and Vietnam. In Brazil, Fiocruz is building interoperable open-access analytical platforms. In Senegal, Institut Pasteur de Dakar is developing an interactive surveillance dashboard and the MONITOR multi-country network. In Vietnam, the Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City is building a national climate-health data warehouse integrating dengue surveillance via DHIS2. Several fellows are working directly on dengue, including predictive climate-dengue models in Laos and Vietnam, and GIS-based risk mapping in the Central African Republic and Cameroon. Learn more
DURABLE Supported by HERA (EU), DURABLE builds preparedness and response capacities across partner institutions. Over 500 participants joined onsite and online trainings between 2024 and 2026, and a new MOOC on outbreak research management was launched in May 2026. Learn more
PREZODE The Pasteur Network participates in PREZODE (Preventing Zoonotic Disease Emergence), an international One Health initiative providing a scientific framework for pandemic prevention, directly complementing the Network’s dengue preparedness agenda as the disease increasingly crosses ecological and geographic boundaries. Learn more
Pasteur Network Scientific Convening: Arboviruses in Focus — Spotlight on Dengue On June 24–25, 2026, the Pasteur Network convenes member institutes and global partners at Sciensano (Brussels) for a scientific meeting dedicated to dengue and arboviral diseases, bringing together researchers, surveillance experts, and public health leaders to define joint strategic initiatives. Key partners including WHO, the Collective Action on Dengue, and the Dengue Alliance will contribute to the discussions.
WHAT PASTEUR NETWORK MEMBERS ARE DOING
Across five continents, Pasteur Network member institutes are engaged in the full spectrum of dengue research and response.
Asia-Pacific Region
Institut Pasteur du Laos conducts nationwide dengue surveillance, genetic analysis of circulating strains, and entomological monitoring of Aedes mosquitoes, including the impact of climate change on transmission risk. Institut Pasteur du Cambodge runs complementary programmes spanning vector ecology and insecticide resistance, nationwide virological surveillance and whole-genome sequencing, and immunological research to guide vaccine design. Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie sequences dengue strains across the Pacific via its BiomicsNC next-generation sequencing platform, investigates Wolbachia-based vector control strategies adapted to island ecologies, and maps immune responses across Oceanian populations. HKU-Pasteur Research Pole conducts field surveillance, genomic sequencing, and insecticide resistance testing. Institut Pasteur Korea brings over 20 years of expertise in infectious diseases and drug discovery, and is engaged in antiviral drug discovery programmes targeting dengue through both target-based and phenotypic screening approaches, in collaboration with national and international partners. Institut Pasteur in Iran, continuing its work despite significant operational disruptions, coordinates a national dengue diagnostic network, conducts genomic surveillance and serotyping of circulating strains, and leads vector and One Health investigations in high-risk areas.
Africa Region
Institut Pasteur de Dakar is developing predictive modelling tools and the MONITOR multi-country surveillance network for early warning of climate-sensitive diseases, and is deploying the first Wolbachia technology in Africa, with large-scale production capacity for durable vector control. It also conducts continuous genomic surveillance of dengue in Senegal, where a new DENV-2 lineage was identified in 2025 in association with the largest outbreak ever recorded in the country. Centre Pasteur du Cameroun conducts dengue surveillance, genomic analysis of circulating serotypes, and entomological research across historically affected areas. Institut Pasteur de Bangui played a decisive role in confirming the country’s first officially declared dengue outbreak, identifying serotypes DENV-1 and DENV-2, and performs local genomic sequencing with data shared openly on GenBank. Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire deploys field teams across high-risk districts, combining phylogenetic characterisation, high-throughput virome sequencing of fevers of unknown origin (VirCapSeq-VERT), and immune response studies, alongside capacity building in medical entomology at regional level. Institut Pasteur de Madagascar operates a sentinel surveillance network coordinated with the Ministry of Public Health, conducts virological and bioinformatic characterisation of circulating arboviruses in humans and animals, and studies vector population genetics and insecticide resistance.
The Americas Region
Fiocruz operates Brazil’s Climate and Health Observatory, providing open-access surveillance and analytical tools used across the region, and drives research and innovation on control, diagnostics, and outbreak response, including evaluation of the Wolbachia method for vector control. Institut Pasteur de São Paulo focuses on community prevention, breeding site elimination, and public awareness on dengue transmission and vaccination. Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, through its National Reference Laboratory for Arboviruses and Medical Entomology Unit, conducts comprehensive dengue surveillance across the Amazonian ecosystem, including cross-border areas of the Guiana Shield, alongside systematic genomic analysis of circulating serotypes and genotypes in both humans and vectors, and research into alternative vector control strategies. Institut Pasteur de Montevideo applies computational modelling to study dengue viral protein dynamics, investigating structural changes in the virus’s outer shell to understand cell entry and antibody recognition mechanisms, with the aim of contributing to future vaccine and antiviral development. INRS Armand-Frappier in Canada, investigates how dengue hijacks cellular energy metabolism and survival pathways, develops flavivirus animal infection models to evaluate antiviral treatments, and works to better anticipate the emergence and evolution of arboviral pathogens.
Euro-Mediterranean Region
Institut Pasteur (Paris) contributes research on dengue transmission determinants, Aedes aegypti genetic resistance to the virus, and viral genotype replacement dynamics, and has spent the past decade strengthening dengue surveillance across Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines through the Ecomore project. Hellenic Pasteur Institute monitors imported and locally acquired dengue cases through its ISO-accredited laboratory, with documented cases originating primarily from Southeast Asia and Central America, and collaborates with Greece’s national public health authority (EODY) on preparedness and early detection. Institut Pasteur de Tunis studies the vector competence of local Aedes albopictus populations, demonstrating their capacity to transmit dengue, conducts targeted entomological investigations around imported cases, and serves as a national reference laboratory for dengue diagnostics. Institut Pasteur d’Algérie investigates Aedes albopictus vector competence, monitors imported cases, and conducts genomic analysis of introduced strains. Institut Pasteur in Italy studies human immuno-metabolic responses to dengue infection, conducts phylogenetic analysis of circulating strains, and monitors Aedes vector populations across Europe. St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute, in collaboration with the Pasteur institutes in Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, screens vectors for dengue virus, tests patient sera, and performs whole-genome sequencing of virus isolates.
“Dengue does not follow borders. It follows the climate, the mosquito, and the movement of people. The Pasteur Network’s strength has always been its proximity to affected communities: researchers embedded in the territories most impacted, working side by side with local actors and drawing on the knowledge and realities of those communities. That proximity is what makes the difference between data and decisions, between research and real public health impact.” Mario Moreira, President, Pasteur Network
About the Pasteur Network
The Pasteur Network is an alliance of 32 organisations working on global health challenges through research, innovation, and public health. Its strength lies in the diversity and geographic reach of its membership, spanning 25 countries across five continents, united by shared values and a common mission for the benefit of populations. pasteur-network.org
All Pasteur Network member institutes listed below are marking World Dengue Day by sharing their dengue expertise and commitments on social media today.
🌍 Africa — Institut Pasteur de Dakar · Centre Pasteur du Cameroun · Institut Pasteur de Bangui · Institut Pasteur de Madagascar · Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire ·
🌎 Americas — Fiocruz · Institut Pasteur de São Paulo · Institut Pasteur de Montevideo · INRS Armand-Frappier · Institut Pasteur de la Guyane
🌏 Asia-Pacific — Institut Pasteur du Cambodge · Institut Pasteur du Laos · Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie · HKU-Pasteur Research Pole · Institut Pasteur Korea · Institut Pasteur in Iran
🌍 Euro-Mediterranean Region — Institut Pasteur (Paris) · Hellenic Pasteur Institute · Institut Pasteur de Tunis · Institut Pasteur d’Algérie· Institut Pasteur in Italy · St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute
And follow the Pasteur Network for Network-wide updates.
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