A new outbreak of dengue in Peru, with 2,300 cases and twelve deaths, raised the alarms of the local authorities who have allocated more than one million dollars on Tuesday to ensure the medical attention of those affected.
So far this year, approximately 2,300 cases have been registered in the country, compared to 16,000 in all of 2019, mainly in the jungle regions of Madre de Dios and Loreto, which account for 48 percent of the patients.
As reported to EFE the executive director of Prevention and Control of Metaxenic Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Karim Pardo, the Peruvian Government found it convenient to declare the emergency because “I already stood out from all the resources that the region has (Madre de Dios) and, in that sense, it has to be supported at a higher level. “
Twelve deceased by dengue
Till the date, “in Madre de Dios six people have died (due to dengue), in Loreto five people have died and one in San Martín“said Pardo.
Following the declaration of sanitary emergency, approved on Sunday, the Executive authorized on Tuesday a financial transfer from the Ministry of Health for 4.28 million soles (about one billion Chilean pesos) in favor of the regional governments of Madre de God, Loreto and San Martín.
Pardo explained that the deaths responded that they arrived too late to attend the health centers and that they had chronic ailments such as diabetes, hypertension or overweight.
Dengue Symptoms
The also called disease “breaks bones” It presents with high fevers, over 40 degrees, rash, muscle pain throughout the body, even “feel it even in the bones” and with a characteristic pain “behind the eyes,” said Pardo.
On the other hand, dengue patients with alarm signs have “permanent abdominal pain, nausea, bleeding from the nose or gums, your urine is dark, your stool is dark, that is the presence of blood”, the specialist alerted.
“That’s where the patient could enter a critical picture of severe dengue, which is very difficult to get out of that picture,” he said.
After a large outbreak of dengue in the country, in 2017, with more than 68,000 cases, the disease transmitted by the Aedes Aegypthi mosquito remained at much lower levels in the following years and Madre de Dios registered 7,000 cases and 22 deaths in 2019.
The rain in the jungle is ahead
However, this 2020 the outbreak has spread faster also by the “climate change” because “the summer was ahead in Madre de Dios, for example, and the rains are everyday,” said the authority.
“This is the period of greatest humidity, the greatest number of rain, and the heat that is permanent are conditions that favor the reproduction of the mosquito, not only because it has more loose farms everywhere, but also because of the heat and humidity which makes its cycle itself … in shorter times, “he explained.
To face the outbreak, the authorities of the Ministry of Health they have started a fumigation in 24,000 houses to eliminate mosquito larvae and hatcheries that form in any container of water, as well as the location of patients with fever who have difficulty moving to hospitals.
The Minister of Health, Elizabeth Hinostroza, traveled on Tuesday to Madre de Dios to supervise these tasks and urge the population to take preventive measures, such as going to a medical center soon, eliminating potential hatcheries, such as vases, pet drinkers or even Coconut shells
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