Argentina-Mosquito disease claims more victims.
ARGENTINA-DREADED MOSQUITO DIsEASE GETS WORSE.
The National Health Ministry yesterday announced that 4,141 cases of dengue were reported in the country in 2009, of which 388 cases were of people who were infected abroad and three cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever. The most affected provinces are Catamarca, Chaco, Salta and Jujuy. Several cases were also detected in Buenos Aires province and City.
A dengue prevention programme was launched yesterday by the government of Buenos Aires province, where there are 36 suspected cases of the disease. Meanwhile, dengue continues to spread throughout the country; the first cases in La Rioja province were reported yesterday.
The plan was presented yesterday by Governor Daniel Scioli, Health Minister Claudio Zin and Education Minister Mario Oporto.
As part of the plan to prevent dengue from spreading in Buenos Aires province, an awareness campaign will be carried out. Tips for preventing dengue will be promoted in the media, at schools and in the neighbourhoods.
Also, two toll-free telephone numbers where people can call to ask for information about the disease will be launched tomorrow.
"The best prevention is information, because from the government we can do a lot of things but it’s also important what each person does at home to prevent dengue," Scioli said.
Zin explained that the government can fumigate to eradicate the dengue mosquito, but this does not prevent the breeding of the mosquito. The minister recommended that people do not accumulate water in containers in gardens or patios, where the larvae of the dengue mosquito could breed.
Zin said the province’s health system is "on alert," but added that no home-bred cases were detected in the province. 36 suspected cases are being studied, the minister said, and confirmed that 17 cases were detected in the province since January; all of the latter patients have been discharged.
In Buenos Aires City, Health Minister Jorge Lemus yesterday confirmed 45 cases of dengue of people who visited northern provinces, and said that "intense epidemic control tasks are being carried out for prevention." The City government will also fumigate in certain areas, considered "risky."
In La Rioja province, Health Minister Gustavo Graselli yesterday confirmed the first case of dengue; the patient is a woman who travelled to Catamarca.
In Tucumán province, where between 60 and 65 people are infected with the disease, the government yesterday confirmed two home-bred cases of dengue. The mosquito that carries dengue was detected in Aguilares, 80km south to Tucumán’s capital, and the area is being fumigated, the government reported.
