An outbreak of dengue in Amazon regions and on the north coast of Peru has claimed 26 deaths and 20,044 infections so far this year, The Peruvian Ministry of Health reports this on Tuesday.

Neighboring Bolivia has already recorded at least 39 deaths, out of about 14,000 infected, from the mosquito-borne virus that can cause high fever, headache, vomiting and muscle and joint pain. In the worst cases, it can be fatal.

“To date, the number of cases of dengue in Peru has risen to 20,044, of which 162 people have been hospitalized due to the severity of the disease and 26 have died,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry pointed out that the most affected Amazon regions are Ucayali with 4,159 cases, Loreto with 3,713 and Madre de Dios with 1,455, all located on the border with Brazil (east), as well as San Martín with 1,706 and Huánuco with 1,464 in the center of the country.

The Piura region (northern) also appears with 2,486 cases, where flooding occurs due to heavy seasonal rains.

The health authority sent technical teams to the regions affected by the disease, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, to strengthen dengue prevention and control.

Sterile mosquitoes released in the Galapagos have a mission: to reduce dengue

In February, the The government has declared a 90-day “sanitary emergency due to a dengue outbreak” in 13 departments in northern, central and southeastern Peru.

Last year, Peru registered 72,844 cases of dengue, a 62% increase in the incidence of the disease from 2021. There were 84 deaths.

In 2020, according to official data, there were 86 deaths and 46,749 cases of this disease.

He dengue is a disease endemic to tropical regions that causes high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle aches and, in the most severe cases, bleeding that can cause death.

It was first discovered in Peru in 1984 and has since become an endemic disease.

Also cases in Bolivia

Bolivia, too, has recorded 39 deaths from dengue this year, and the outbreak pushed health officials in eastern Santa Cruz. region, the most populous in Bolivia, on the verge of collapse. Dengue is a mosquito-borne tropical disease, which can be deadly in the worst cases.