Dengue is common in more than 110 countries. Every year, it infects 50 to 100 million people around the world. It also causes half a million hospitalizations and about 12,500 to 25,000 deaths around the world each year. However, the World Health Organization says that dengue fever is not taken as seriously as it should be. It calls dengue one of 16 "neglected tropical diseases" - diseases which do not get enough attention. In every million people, dengue causes about 1600 years of life to be lost. This is about the same as other tropical and deadly diseases, like tuberculosis. However, the WHO says the neglected tropical diseases, like dengue, do not get the attention and money that is needed to find treatments and cures.