( Spanish) – The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) warned about the increase in the number of dengue cases in the country, which, from January 1 to October 6, 2024, reached 33,085. According to Gisselle Guzmán, epidemiologist and head of Collective Health at this institution, the figure represents more than double what was recorded in 2023 during the same period.
According to the Caja, the virus is present throughout the country, but with greater force in the Central regions, which corresponds to San José, the capital, and Cartago, a neighboring province, as well as the northern central region that covers the towns of Heredia and Alajuela, others. two provinces of the central Costa Rican valley.
Guzmán added that the four serotypes of the dengue virus circulate in the country, so the institution asks for extreme prevention measures, mainly in the highest risk groups: pregnant women, people with liver or kidney problems, heart disease, and hypertension.
The Ministry of Health detailed as of September 27, 2024, that of 14 deceased people who were under investigation, 5 died from dengue as a direct cause. He added that the Interinstitutional Commission in charge of carrying out the studies explained that they reviewed the notes of each clinical care provided to the patients, the laboratory tests, the pharmacological approach, in addition to tissue samples for pathological analysis in cases where there was an autopsy.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne virus that is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, also known to carry other viruses, including yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC) of the United States. It causes flu-like symptoms and can cause death in extreme cases.
Both the Ministry of Health and the CCSS have repeatedly asked the population to intensify cleaning measures to combat dengue, as well as to take care of and keep under surveillance empty lots and the storage of used tires. Health authorities also ask the population to inform local health providers if there are suspected cases and the sites that could generate mosquito breeding sites. In addition, they have called for you to go to the nearest health centers if you present symptoms that are related to severe dengue, including persistent abdominal pain, swelling, frequent vomiting, bleeding gums and the presence of bruises without apparent cause.
The call for virus prevention was also made by the National Children’s Hospital, which as of October 10 reported 6 seriously ill patients due to dengue. According to pediatrician Marcela Hernández, coordinator of the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of this medical center, there are 36 minors hospitalized for the virus between the ages of 5 and 14. He added that in August there was an increase in cases arriving at the medical center.
The Ministry of Health reported that as part of the strategy to confront the virus, fumigations are carried out in priority locations such as the Greater Metropolitan Area. In a press release, the institution specified that from October 7 to 12, 24,561 fumigations were carried out in the cantons with the highest incidence and 1,806 houses were visited to apply larvicides and eliminate breeding sites.
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