So far this year, Ecuador has recorded almost all of the dengue cases from last year

So far this year, Ecuador has registered 23,064 cases of denguealmost the total number of cases from last year, which is why experts asked on Tuesday that the government declare an emergency in the health sector.

According to the authorities, 31 deaths have also been reported, especially in four provinces, El Oro, Manabí, Los Ríos and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. In 2023 there were six deaths with a total of 27,838 infected.

The epidemiologist and professor at the University of the Americas, Esteban Ortiz, told The Associated Press that “The data on this disease are alarming.” and not only in Ecuador, where there is an increase of 260% compared to last year.

In Colombia the increase in dengue cases was 407%, in Peru 274%, in Argentina 350%, in Brazil 261% and in Paraguay 1,800%, among others, he asserted, and said that in the countries of the Cone South there have been more than 16,000 deaths, citing information from the Pan American Health Organization.

He added that “The situation is dramatic due to the increase in mortality, serious cases and the number of infected” which “justifies the authorities’ declaration of a health emergency” as other countries have done.

The AP called Ecuador’s Health Ministry to seek information but did not immediately get a response.

The growth of dengue, experts point out, is a consequence of the lack of public policies and budgets and actions to confront it, in addition to the sustained winter season in almost the entire country and especially in the tropical region, where the increase in stagnant waters Due to the rains, they allow the accelerated reproduction of the transmitting mosquitoes.

The president of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation, Wilson Tenorio, stated that there are more than 1,000 weekly cases of dengue, which “is a sufficient reason to make the decision to declare an emergency” in order to allocate resources for medications, supplies and laboratory reagents.

The most common symptoms of this disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito are fever, headache, skin rashes, and muscle and joint pain.

The Pan American Health Organization has indicated that in the Americas last year a total of 4.56 million cases were recorded, including 7,653 serious cases and 2,340 deaths.