Costa Rican health officials reported six fatalities from dengue fever and almost 30,000 infected patients.

According to the Ministry of Health, the virus victims were identified as a 60-year-old man from San José City in San José Province,  a 43-year-old man from Nicoya Canton in Guanacaste Province, a 51-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman both from Turrialba Canton in Cartago Province, a 49-year-old woman from Alajuela City and an 83-year-old man from Orotina Canton, both from Alajuela Province.

Additionally, officials have recorded over 29,500 cases of dengue virus as of November 22, 2024.

This record represents an increase of more than 6,800 infected people compared with the observed in the same period in 2023 when there were about 22,645 cases.

San José Province had the most patients, with about 9,500 cases, followed by the provinces of Alajuela with over 7,800 infected people and Puntarenas with about 5,000 patients.

The rest of the patients are from the provinces of Cartago (over 3,700 cases), Limón (over 1,200 cases) Guanacaste (more than 1,000 patients) and Heredia with about 900 patients.

Authorities state that staff from the Vector Control Program have fumigated almost 100,000 homes where dengue infections are most common in the country.

Dengue causes flu-like symptoms and sometimes progresses to a life-threatening condition called severe dengue, formerly known as hemorrhagic dengue.

The virus is transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. There are four types of the dengue virus: DEN 1, DEN 2, DEN 3 and DEN 4. Symptoms appear in 3–14 days, on average 4–7 days, after the infected bite. Dengue fever is a flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults.

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Severe dengue is potentially lethal, but early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management may often save lives.

The only method to control or prevent dengue transmission is to fight against vector mosquitoes, authorities said.

Experts recommend the following precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the mosquito.

• Keeping a tidy home to prevent mosquitoes from finding places to lay their eggs.

• Properly removing solid waste and possible clean water deposits, no matter how small.

• Covering, emptying and cleaning water containers every week.

• Applying suitable insecticides to the containers in which water is stored outdoors.

• Using personal protection measures at home, such as window screens, long-sleeved clothing, repellents, insecticide-treated materials, coils and vaporizers.

Costa Rica closed 2023 with more than 26,400 cases of dengue fever.

 

The Ministry of Public Health is the state-owned agency that oversees and regulates public and private healthcare within Costa Rica.

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