Dengue Fever: Paraguay Declares Health Emergency

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of people infected with Dengue virus has peaked in Paraguay. This year, 34 people have already died as a result of the infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The number of Dengue fever cases has also increased in other countries in Latin America compared to 2019.

The Paraguayan Ministry of Health confirmed the 34 deaths on February 28th. Another 90 cases are currently under investigation to determine whether they were caused by Dengue fever. According to the authorities, over 135,000 suspected cases have been reported nationwide, of which 11,300 are Dengue infections according to the official record of the Ministry of Health.

The highest proportion of the epidemic occurs in the districts of Asunción and in the cities of Mariano Roque Alonso, Villa Elisa, and San Lorenzo. Other affected areas include the Presidente Hayes Department, Paraguarí, Boquerón, Cordillera, San Juan Nepomuceno (Caazapá) and Sur de San Pedro.

Guillermo Sequera, Paraguay’s Director of Health Surveillance, complained of inadequate Dengue detection, as in some regions of the country infections are poorly documented. The outbreak prompted the government to impose a 90-day health emergency on February 17th.

Cases of dengue fever typically increase in the summer months between January and March, when mosquito activity peaks. The number of cases tends to decrease towards the end of March. The main symptoms of the virus are high fever, muscle, and joint pain.

The Pan American Health Organization (OPS) reports that three million cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in Latin America to date. This exceeds the largest epidemic ever, recorded in 2015, with 2.5 million people infected. In addition to Paraguay, there is an emergency in northern Argentina, some regions in southern Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.

Dengue fever is considered the world’s most common and fastest spreading mosquito-borne viral disease.