San José, Costa Rica. Wednesday, August 13, 1997 |
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Hemorrhagic dengue is around the cornerBy A. AVALOS / G. CHAVES La Nación SAN JOSE - Either Costa Ricans make an all-out effort to eliminate the nests of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito which transmits the dengue fever or they will have to face an epidemics of hemorrhagic dengue, which is deadly in most of the cases. Such alternative was plainly stated yesterday by the Minister of Health Dr. Hermann Weinstock. He also admitted that in spite of the intense educational campaigns launched since the standard dengue fever returned to the country, in 1993, which have cost taxpayers ¢1.1 billion ($4.6 million), Costa Ricans have not learned the lesson.``Either everybody join the effort, or there will be deaths,'' Dr. Weinstock stated. The dengue fever is a tropical disease, whose standard type causes fever, rash, muscle pain, and headache. The hemorrhagic type causes bleeding in the skin, the mouth, the nose and the stomach, and patients who do not get hospital care within 24 hours rarely survive. Since 1993, 29,789 cases of standard dengue and only two of the hemorrhagic type -- one of them fatal -- have been recorded in Costa Rica. However, current outbreaks of the disease in several towns of the provinces of Puntarenas and Guanacaste have prompted health authorities to ring the alarm bells. So far this year, 3,173 cases of dengue have been recorded in the Pacific city of Puntarenas, 864 more than the overall figure for 1996. Because of the preceding, 3,000 people will join today a mass effort to destroy the breeding sites of the mosquito. ``There is an imminent risk of an outbreak of hemorrhagic dengue fever at any time now. The threat of the disease adds to concern over of malaria, which is transmitted by the same mosquito,'' Minister Weinstock said. Health authorities are asking all residents of Costa Rica to eliminate any deposits of stagnant water in their homes, since the mosquito that transmits the dengue fever breeds in such places. © LA NACION S.A. The material included in La Nación Edición Electrónica cannot be reproduced, transmited or distributed totally or in part without previous written authorization from La Nación S.A. If you need more information or if you want to contribute your suggestions, please write to webmaster@nacion.co.cr |
