-Monday, September 30, 2019-
Dengue spreading rapidly across Central America, says report
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
"Dengue fever is spreading rapidly across Central America," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday, based on a Voice of America report*.
"The size of this outbreak is unprecedented across Central America," said Dr. Maria Frana Tallarico, head of health of IFRC's regional office for the Americas.
Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica are reporting "massive increases in dengue cases compared to previous years," the IFRC said.
More than 71,200 people in Honduras have been affected by the mosquito-borne viral disease.
Seasonal rains and high temperatures have created stagnant pools that are "perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes," according to IFRC.
What is alarming about the disease in Honduras, however, is that 65 percent of the 128 deaths thus far are children under 15 years old.
"This is due to a lack of immunity in young people. Two of the deadliest of the four strains of dengue are currently circulating in the region," says Tallarico.
IFRC says it is "scaling up" emergency assistance to help countries contain the disease, including teams of IFRC volunteers who are going door-to-door to raise awareness about the disease and how to prevent it from spreading.
In Costa Rica, as A.M. Costa Rica reported on August 29th, the latest report by the Minister of
Health, there has been an increase in cases of people
infected with dengue virus.
According to the Ministry, from January 1st to August
17th, there were 3,960 registered patients. During the
same period last year, there were 1,646 registered
cases.
That is an increase of 2,314 patients infected in
2019.
Of the 3,960 patients, three were considered severe.
"The most affected cantons are: Sarapiquí, Guácimo,
Pococí, and Turrialba," in the province of Limón*, said the
Ministry in its statement.
According to the Ministry, the first case of a patient
with the dengue virus in the country was recorded
in1993.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease
caused by a virus.
Symptoms typically begin three to 14 days after
infection. This may include a high fever, headache,
vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and a skin rash.
Recovery takes two to seven days. In a small portion
of cases, the disease develops into a severe case of
dengue resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood
platelets, and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue
shock syndrome and dangerously low blood pressure.
Dengue is spread by several species of female
mosquitoes of the Aedes type, principally
A. aegypti.
There are five types of the virus. Infection with one
type sometimes provides lifelong immunity to that
type, but only short-term immunity to the others.
Subsequent infections of a different type increase the
risk of certain complications. Several tests are
available to confirm the diagnosis, including
detecting antibodies to the virus or its RNA.
The World Health Organization estimates that climate
change, urbanization, and other factors could result
in more than 6 billion people at risk of dengue
infection by 2080.
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