Dengue began to spread much more quickly during and after World War II. Different types of dengue also spread to new areas. For the first time, people started to get dengue hemorrhagic fever. The first case of dengue hemorrhagic fever happened in the Philippines in 1953. By the 1970s, dengue hemorrhagic fever had become a major cause of death in children. It also spread to the Pacific and the Americas. Dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome were first reported in Central America and South America in 1981.