U.K. Updates Dengue Vaccination Recommendations

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently reviewed its guidance for countries at risk of dengue fever outbreaks. Last year, records of dengue outbreaks and related fatalities were set in many countries.

As of May 2, 2025, based on this review, most countries with a known risk of dengue now have a vaccine recommendation for some travellers.

However, the following countries have sporadic local dengue cases, but a vaccine is not recommended: Australia, Croatia, France, Italy, Madeira, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

In the U.S., locally acquired dengue was reported in 2025 in areas such as Miami-Dade County in Florida.

According to the UKHSA, health professionals should consider the possibility of dengue in all returned UK travellers with a fever or flu-like illness who have recently visited dengue risk regions. Suspected dengue patients should discuss this matter with their local microbiology, virology, or infectious diseases consultant, giving a full travel/clinical history. 

The live, attenuated dengue vaccine called Qdenga® is licensed in the UK, but is unsuitable for all travellers.

Qdenga is currently not licensed in the U.S.

The UKHSA and NaTHNaC dengue recommendations are based on published data focusing on evidence of local mosquito-borne dengue transmission from January 2020 to December 2024.