Loop News – Health officials in the Dominican Republic have ramped up their surveillance and mosquito eradication efforts to stop the surge of dengue virus.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Minister of Health Dr Daniel Rivera said the country will not lower its guard to dengue and he urged islanders to do their part to eliminate breeding grounds for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is the vector for dengue.
The country has recorded over 6,000 cases for the year,
Vice Minister of Collective Health, Dr Eladio Pérez said most of the infections were recorded in the urban areas of Santo Domingo Norte, Este, Distrito Nacional and Santiago. Approximately 77.8% of reported cases are in individuals under 19 years of age
He explained that “the climatic conditions that are registered in the country, that is, the heat, the rains and the water stored incorrectly, favour the reproduction of the larvae of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which contributes to the increase in cases.”
Public health officials have been in communities conducting public education as well as placing larvicides in water containers and spraying.
Pérez said there has been some success in the anti-dengue campaign as the numbers of infections are below expectations.
Dr José Luis Cruz , director of the Centre for the Prevention and Control of Diseases Transmitted by Vectors (CECOVEZ), told reporters that 300 to 600 homes are targeted daily during the anti-mosquito drive.
Meanwhile, Dr Dhamelisse Then, director of the Doctor Hugo Mendoza Paediatric Hospital, is encouraging parents and guardians to seek medical attention immediately when their children show signs of dengue such as a fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and dizziness.
She said the hospital has admitted 83 suspected dengue cases and they receive more than 100 patients daily.
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