Urbanization, Dengue, and the Health Transition: Anthropological Contributions to International Health

Abstract

A host of resurgent diseases, many in newly created urban environments, challenges the assumptions underlying anthropological contributions to international public health programs. Past programs validated local knowledge about acute and well‐known disease conditions and encouraged self‐help and participatory approaches to respond to these problems. This article discusses the changing picture of health conditions in urban settings by examining local responses to one problem, dengue hemorrhagic fever, in a new program designed to test several earlier assumptions.