MIAMI, United States. – Authorities in Sancti Spíritus and Ciego de Ávila have reported an increase in dengue fever contagion during August, with the presence of various mutations of the virus that could make the situation in the central region of Cuba more difficult.
Also in August, Florida’s Health Department issued a warning alert for Broward and Miami-Dade County concerning contagious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, due to the spread of the dengue virus.
In a statement to América Teve, epidemiologist Dadilia Garcés explained that at least 200 cases of dengue have been diagnosed in Florida to individuals who have traveled to dengue-endemic areas during the two weeks prior to their being diagnosed, especially to Cuba.
This is not a surprising situation, being that Cuba has suffered from dengue fever transmission for decades.
Each year, August 26th is celebrated as International Day against Dengue. Catalogued by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an infection that can affect any age group, there are four variants of dengue, hemorrhagic dengue fever being the most serious.
It is possible for an individual to contract dengue four times, each time due to a different strain of the virus.
Dengue fever causes symptoms similar to those of a cold, such as fever, muscular aches and pains, headaches, chills, nausea and vomiting. On occasion, the disease can evolve into a potentially lethal condition, called hemorrhagic dengue, or severe dengue.
Dengue is a widely-spread disease in tropical regions of the planet. As of late, the presence of dengue has increased in urban areas, becoming a serious public health issue along with Zika and Chikungunya.
Today, more than half of the world’s population is at some risk of contracting dengue fever. Annually, more than 390 million cases occur in the world, of which 500,000 correspond to the gravest variety, i.e., hemorrhagic dengue, which causes some 25,000 deaths.
One of the principal ways of controlling the spread of dengue fever is to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, in public as well as domestic spaces. To that end, health authorities recommend that all water containers be emptied and cleaned regularly: plant and flower pots, buckets, old tires, pet water dishes, etc. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water, which is the reason why eliminating these breeding sites is essential.
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