In Latin America, Dengue is deadlier than Coronavirus

In Latin America, not only is it more likely to get the dengue fever, but it is even more deadly than coronovirus, with a mortality rate as high as 20%, when left untreated.

The dengue fever outbreak in several Latin American countries is proving more dangerous and contagious than the coronavirus, a disease that is wreaking havoc worldwide.

More than 19 countries, including Bolivia, Panama, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, are facing this disease that has taken thousands of human lives and continues to spread.

In Panama, two deaths and 1,012 confirmed cases have been reported so far in 2020. According to the Ministry of Health, 894 cases are not alarming, 112 are, and there are six serious cases.

The countries with the highest infection rates are in Central America. In Nicaragua there are approximately 2,271 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, in Belize 1,021, in Honduras 995 and in El Salvador 375, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

According to local media, there have been eight deaths from hemorrhagic dengue fever in Honduras in 2020, and at least 8,737 infections. Of these, 75% have been children.

In the case of Bolivia, the situation is also alarming since 7,790 cases have been confirmed in seven of the nine departments of the Andean country. In addition, the Ministry of Health reported 42,000 suspected cases, most of them in the city of Santa Cruz.

The director of Bolivia’s Health Department, Marcelo Rios, reported that six deaths have been registered due to the disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti fly.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds in places with stagnant water or very wet conditions. Its incubation period is between eight and 12 days and symptoms include fever, severe headaches and abdominal pain, persistent vomiting and mucous membrane bleeding.

The Yucatan Times
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