Health Department monitors a dengue outbreak in Rincon

The Health Department is monitoring an outbreak of dengue in Rincon, which has already caused almost 30 infections, confirmed the doctor Melissa Marzanthe agency’s chief epidemiology officer.

In interview with The new dayMarzan indicated that the outbreak dates back a little over a month and is limited to a community in Rincon, which he did not identify.

To alleviate this unusual increase in cases, Health, together with the Vector Control Unit – a program attached to the Trust for Science, Technology and Research of Puerto Rico – is carrying out community interventions, in order to control the transmission of the virus, which is transmitted through mosquito Aedes aegypti.

“We have a conglomerate of cases there,” described the epidemiologist.

It was immediately impossible to obtain additional details about the outbreak in Rincon. The new day tried yesterday, Saturday, to communicate with the mayor Carlos Lopez Bonilla, but did not answer calls. The Vector Control Unit was also not available.

In total, until August 19 – the most recent data in Health –, 515 cases of dengue had already been reported so far this year, 375 of them confirmed.

“This year, there is a higher incidence (of dengue) in the Americas,” said Marzan, recalling that, in 2022, in Cubathere was a large outbreak of dengue, while this year, two of the most affected countries are Dominican Republic and Peru.

According to the EFE Agency, in the recently concluded week, the Dominican Republic reported that it is going through an epidemic outbreak of dengue, with 6,111 suspected cases and 42 probable deaths, of which four have been confirmed, all in minors.

Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef, in English), in the first five months of 2023, more than 37,000 minors were infected with dengue in Peru. Newspaper reports indicate that, until mid-June, deaths from dengue in Peru were 232.

On July 19, the World Health Organization issued a bulletin informing that, since the beginning of the year, there have been dengue outbreaks of considerable magnitude in the Americas. As of that date, nearly 3 million suspected and confirmed cases of dengue had been reported, exceeding the 2.8 million registered last year.

“The risk is there. We are training teams”said Marzan, who explained that preparation includes personnel trained in community interventions for education and prevention.

“It is important that we are prepared because we have all the factors for cases to increase, starting with the fact that (dengue) is endemic in Puerto Rico”he added, referring, among other aspects, to the climate and the presence of the disease vector on the island.

According to Health data, of the 515 cases of dengue reported, 45 are in Rincon. Meanwhile, the towns with the most reported cases are San Juan (74), Bayamon (71) and Rincon. The most affected population sector is those aged 40 to 59, followed by people aged 10 to 14, 15 to 19 and 60 to 79. Of the 166 people who have been hospitalized for dengue this year, 19 have had severe dengue.