The Ministry of Health conceded in recent days that three autochthonous cases of dengue in Argentina with no history of travel abroad, which indicates that they were infected within the country and puts the focus on the circulation of the disease. These are two cases in the City of Buenos Aires and one in the province of Córdoba.
This is how he details it National Epidemiological Bulletin 634 of week 52, which reports that since the start of the season, in August 2022, there have been no confirmed cases without a history of travel abroad until December, “where two cases are reported in CABA and one case in Córdoba”. In the rest of the country, they clarify, “There is no record of autochthonous confirmed cases.”
The first two patients are parents residing in the Federal Capital. Both were in the same city and in towns in the province of Buenos Aires during the period of acquisition of the infection, where there were no more febrile patients in the area.
Optimism for a new dengue vaccine
Meanwhile, the third case corresponds to a patient residing in Córdoba Capital, with no history of travel to other locations. “The corresponding control actions and the search for febrile people have been carried out, with no more cases in the area and second samples have been sent to the national reference laboratory,” says the report from the Ministry of Health.
During the first months of the season (August, September and October) there was a drop in the number of suspected cases at the country level.
But, in the last three weeks there was a weekly average of 99 notifications, almost the same average that was presented for said weeks (105) in the previous year 2021, while in 2020 the average was 35% more (155 notifications).
Dengue: how is the situation in the rest of the country
According to official information, in the rest of the country there is no record of confirmed cases without a travel history, so there is no evidence of viral circulation.
However, between EW 31 and 48, 9 confirmed cases with a history of travel to other countries have been reported in the City of Buenos Aires (one case with a history of travel to Puerto Rico and another to Mexico), Buenos Aires (one case without serotype with a history of travel to Paraguay), Córdoba (2 confirmed DEN-2 with a history of travel to Colombia and Peru), Corrientes (1 confirmed DEN-1 with a history of travel to Paraguay and Colombia), Mendoza (one DEN- 2 and a DEN-3 with a history of travel to Cuba and Mexico respectively) and San Juan (a case without serotype with a history of travel to Brazil) (Table 1).
In addition, 11 probable cases of dengue have been registered -2 of them with a history of travel abroad- and, of the total reported cases with suspected dengue, 48% correspond to inconclusive suspected cases, 42% have been discarded, 9% remain under study and the remaining 2% correspond to confirmed and probable cases.
These notifications were registered mainly in the Central and NOA regions.
Dengue: symptoms and prevention
Fever accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms:
- Pain behind the eyes, headache, muscle and joint pain
- nausea and vomiting
- intense tiredness
- Appearance of spots on the skin
- Itching and/or bleeding from the nose and gums
Faced with these symptoms, self-medication should be avoided and it is recommended to go to the health center immediately to receive the appropriate treatment.
To prevent it, the most important measure is the elimination of all mosquito breeding sites, that is, all containers that contain water both inside and around houses.
Many of the containers where the mosquito breeds are not useful (cans, bottles, tires, pieces of plastic and canvas, cut drums). These containers must be removed.
If the containers cannot be eliminated because they are used frequently, mosquito access to their interior must be prevented (covering tanks, cisterns and/or cisterns) or preventing them from accumulating water, turning them over (buckets, basins, drums) or emptying them and brushing frequently (pot holders, drinking fountains), or putting them under cover (returnable bottles).
GA/CCM
You may also like
