At least 35 people have died in Central America so far this year due to the dengue, Therefore, several countries in the region declared a state of emergency, local health authorities reported this Friday.
Guatemala is the most affected Central American country, with 12 deaths and 18,256 cases registered since the beginning of the year, which is five times the number reported in the same period of 2023 (3,189 cases). More than half of the patients are under 15 years of age.
In Honduras, authorities register 16,400 cases and 11 deaths in 2024, which led the Government to declare the state of “maximum alert”. While in Panama, the Ministry of Health reported this Friday 4,479 cases and 12 deaths.
Authorities in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua have not reported deaths so far, but cases are in the thousands.
Given the wave of cases, the authorities carry out massive fumigations in several towns in these countries to eradicate the mosquito “Aedes aegypti”, transmitter of the disease.
In Guatemala, on April 30, the Government of President Bernardo Arévalo declared a national health emergency due to the increase in dengue cases.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Latin America and the Caribbean will probably experience their “worst dengue season” this year, favored by the combination of the El Niño phenomenon and climate change.
Dengue is a disease endemic to tropical areas that causes high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most severe cases, hemorrhages that can cause death.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in April 2023 that dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases are spreading much further and further from their usual areas due to climate change.
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Source: Gestion
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