Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=15775&formato=HTML

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces
Bolivia declared this week a state of sanitary emergency in four of the country?s provinces following a bout of 250 reported cases of dengue, a disease transmitted by the "Aedes Aegypti" and which can be deadly in its haemorrhagic strain.

The emergency will be backed by 15.000 members of the Bolivian Armed Forces that will be involved in medical support activities plus prevention such as fumigation and when possible elimination of stagnated water and or sewage where the mosquitoes proliferate.

?We are sending our resources to the provinces of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Cochabamba, where most of the cases have been reported?, said Rear Admiral Jose Luis Cabas, Chief of Staff of Bolivia?s armed forces.

The four provinces also concentrate the most populated areas of the country.

Cabas added that the most important outbreaks had been located in the city of Santa Cruz, in Villa Tunari to the north of the capital La Paz, Riberalta and Cobija.

The emergency extends for three months which coincides with the rainy season of the tropical areas of landlocked Bolivia.

Last year 1.900 dengue cases were diagnosed in Bolivia, but only 15 of the deadly haemorrhagic variant, and fortunately no reported deaths, according to the country?s sanitary authorities.

Dr. Juan Carlos Arraya head of the Epidemiology Department from the Health ministry said that two of the four known strains of dengue ?have been detected in the country, so we could be exposed to a serious threat of the haemorrhagic?.

?We have planned a saturation campaign with sanitary brigades, supported by the Army, involved in massive fumigations in the most exposed areas, particularly along border towns?, said Arraya.

Dengue is endemic in certain areas of neighbouring Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. According to the World Health Organization dengue Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms appear 3?14 days after the infective bite with a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults.

Symptoms range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue. It is important to maintain hydration

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding) is a potentially lethal complication, affecting mainly children. Early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses increase survival of patients

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/01/21/bolivia.dengue.deaths/

Emergency declared after 3 dengue deaths in Bolivia

LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Bolivian officials have declared a health emergency after three deaths attributed to dengue hemorrhagic fever, the often-lethal form of a mosquito-borne disease that more than 1,000 Bolivians are thought to have contracted since November.

At least 12 unconfirmed instances of dengue hemorrhagic fever have been reported in the first 17 days of 2009, the official ABI news agency said.

About 250 cases of dengue fever, the milder, nonlethal form of the disease, have been confirmed in the past two weeks, said Health Minister Ramiro Tapia in the Los Tiempos de Cochabamba newspaper.

Authorities said they have committed more than 20,000 military personnel and 2.5 tons of insecticide to combat the disease.

A preteen boy died last week at Children's Hospital of La Paz, a few days after arriving with internal bleeding, hospital director Christian Fuentes told La Razon newspaper in La Paz, the nation's capital.

"By that time, there was nothing we could do. He had multiple internal hemorrhages," Fuentes said.

A 17-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman also died last week, the ABI news agency said, citing the national director of epidemiology, Juan Carlos Arraya.

Cases of dengue fever usually spike from November through January, which is Bolivia's hot and rainy season. Alberto Nogales, the country's vice minister of health, said the fight against mosquitoes will last until April.

Dengue occurs in tropical and subtropical parts of the world, transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of four dengue viruses, the World Health Organization says.

Symptoms, which appear three to 14 days after the bite, can include mild to high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain and a rash, the WHO says.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a potentially fatal complication that affects mainly children, the WHO says. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting and bleeding.

The disease cannot be transmitted directly from one person to another.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are up to 100 million cases worldwide each year.

"It actually is quite common," Dr. Ali Khan of the CDC told CNN last year. "And unfortunately, over the last 30 years or so we've seen an increase in the number of countries infected with dengue fever."

Khan attributes the increase in part to population growth. Mosquitoes that carry dengue typically breed in areas near humans.

"This is a disease that occurs where there's lots of population," he said.

The WHO says mosquitoes carrying dengue viruses breed in exposed water, including places as shallow as jars, discarded bottles and plant saucers.

Last year, 55,000 people in southeastern Brazil contracted the disease. The outbreak was confirmed as causing the deaths of at least 67 people -- almost half of them children under 13 -- and another 58 deaths were under investigation last summer, the Rio de Janeiro state's ministry of health reported at the time. Final statistics on the outbreak were not immediately available.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Confirm that dengue epidemic worsens in Bolivia

Tue, 27/01/2009 - 15:45

The Ministry of Health of Bolivia confirmed 4,000 cases of dengue fever in recent days and the deaths of three people by dengue hemorrhagic fever, one of the worst escalation of the epidemic in recent years.

The government declared a health emergency and mobilized troops in a plan to spray neighborhoods in this capital of nearly one million inhabitants. Other tropical regions of the country reported cases.

The director of Epidemiology, Juan Carlos Arraya, said Tuesday at a press conference that the city is hit Santa Cruz in the east where there have been 80% of confirmed cases.

More than 100 people a day visit the hospital with possible symptoms of evil in that city, according to Santa Cruz Arraya.Autoridades Health reported that hospitals are saturated by demand.

They requested support from neighboring countries to combat the epidemic, said the weekend Health Minister Ramiro Tapia.

Dengue fever appears in the rainy season in tropical areas. The bearer of evil encuba mosquito larvae in stagnant water. If the treaty is not a bad time can lead to dengue haemorrhagic fever, causing death.

http://www.larepublica.pe/internaci...n-que-se-agrava-epidemia-de-dengue-en-bolivia

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=326841&CategoryId=14919

Bolivia Reports 5 Deaths, Over 7,200 Dengue Cases

LA PAZ -- The Bolivian government has registered more than 7,200 confirmed and probable dengue cases, with five deaths reported so far this year from the disease's hemorrhagic variety, Health Minister Ramiro Tapia said Sunday.

A total of 7,248 dengue cases have been classified as confirmed or probable, the health minister told state television.

Dengue is a serious viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that is characterized by high fever, intense headaches, muscle pain, gastro-intestinal problems and rashes.

Hemorrhagic dengue, in addition to having symptoms associated with classic dengue, like fever, headaches and joint pain, can also eventually result in internal bleeding.

More than 5,000 dengue cases have been reported in the eastern province of Santa Cruz and 18 suspected cases of hemorrhagic dengue have been identified across the Andean nation, Tapia said.

The government increased the budget for fighting dengue to 8.6 million bolivianos ($1.2 million), "of which nearly 4 million bolivianos are for the city of Santa Cruz," the health minister said.

"Now we are going to have the resources to fight" dengue more effectively, the minister said, adding that Bolivians would have to change their habits because "people throw trash into the streets."

Tapia said his ministry planned to launch a national cleanliness campaign next Sunday to urge Bolivians to clean their homes, streets and plazas.

"We need a joint mobilization, to have trucks from the cities and the armed forces. This measure will significantly reduce dengue outbreaks where they occur," the health minister said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7866908.stm

Dengue fever outbreak in Bolivia
By Andres Schipani
BBC News, La Paz

Bolivia has sounded the alarm about the country's worst outbreak of dengue fever for 22 years.

The outbreak has already killed five people in the east of the country and infected more than 7,000.

Bolivia is facing an epidemic in its tropical lowlands and its strained health system appears unable to cope.

Authorities have declared a health emergency. Worst hit is the region of Santa Cruz, bordering the Amazon and neighbouring Paraguay.

More than a dozen of the reported cases have been of dengue haemorrhagic fever or DHF, which if left untreated has a high mortality rate.

Bolivia's medical resources are already stretched to the limit, so a number of military facilities, especially in the city of Santa Cruz, have been turned into temporary hospitals.

Thousands of soldiers and medical workers have been enlisted to help.

The government has allocated funds to supply the hospitals and step up fumigation, but many accuse the authorities of being slow to take action.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a2_c_H0E5kRw&refer=latin_america

Bolivia?s Dengue Epidemic May Affect 50,000, Head Doctor Says
By Jonathan J. Levin

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivia?s doctors are going house to house in tropical regions of the country checking for dengue fever as the number of suspected cases climbed to about 9,000 and a health official warned more than five times more may be infected.

?There could be as many as 50,000 cases by March or April if we can?t take control of the epidemic,? Juan Carlos Arraya, head of the ministry?s epidemiology department, said in a telephone interview.

Dengue fever is transmitted in tropical regions through mosquito bites, and is potentially lethal if the victim is bitten a second time, causing dengue hemorrhagic fever. The Health Ministry said in a report yesterday it has registered 19 suspected cases of the lethal version.

The Bolivian army dispatched troops to help in fumigation efforts, and some local governments are fining residents for failing to meet cleanliness standards, according to Arraya.

The epidemiologist said the government of President Evo Morales was working with neighboring Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay to fight the disease, which ?has no borders.?

?This is the worst dengue outbreak in Bolivia in many years,? Health Ministry spokesman Ener Chavez said in an interview at his La Paz office. ?The only way to beat this disease is with prevention.?

Small outbreaks of the virus occur every year in Bolivia during the raining season, November through March. This year?s outbreak is already 18 times worse than last year?s, when the Health Ministry registered about 500 cases of dengue, Arraya said.

Health Minister Ramiro Tapia said Jan. 20 that there were about 1,000 suspected infections, meaning the number of cases on record had jumped about 900 percent in two weeks, according to Cochabamba-based newspaper Los Tiempos.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan J. Levin in La Paz at Jlevin20@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 5, 2009 03:16 EST

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Bolivia struggles to control dengue epidemic

By ABC's Richard Reynolds

Posted Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:33am AEDT


Bolivia is experiencing its worst outbreak of dengue fever in decades.

International aid groups are sending in medical teams to help the over-strained medical system.

So far almost 40,000 people have contracted the disease.

While symptoms are often severe, most of those infected do recover.

But a large number of people are developing a more serious strain called dengue hemorrhagic fever, which has now killed 23 people.

Bolivia's poorly-equipped medical facilities are overwhelmed and international groups are sending in doctors and nurses.

With proper medical care, the death rate can be cut substantially.

There is no vaccine against the disease and Bolivia's eastern lowlands are wet and humid, ideal breeding grounds for the mosquito that spreads the disease.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/28/2503947.htm?section=justin

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46249

HEALTH-BOLIVIA: Dengue Epidemic Overwhelms System
By Franz Ch?vez

LA PAZ, Mar 24 (IPS) - Dengue fever has claimed 24 lives so far this year in Bolivia, in what experts are calling the worst epidemic in the country?s history. The mosquito-borne disease has spread fast due to high summer temperatures combined with rainfall, a weak public health system and poor collection of garbage.

The epidemic has hit the eastern city of Santa Cruz and other lowlands areas that have a hot humid climate. The national head of epidemiology, Eddy Martinez, said more than 45,000 cases have been reported since January, and added that the epidemic is expected to reach its peak in April, with as many as 60,000 cases.

Health Minister Ramiro Tapia said the government prevention campaign includes spraying against mosquitoes in towns and cities and the clean-up of garbage dumps, with aid from Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador.

But despite efforts by local and central governments, people in at-risk areas are living in a climate of fear.

Dengue is considered endemic in tropical zones, but the current epidemic is unprecedented, public health expert Franklin Alcaraz, director of the Latin American Centre for Scientific Research (CELIN), told IPS.

Spring and summer temperatures have been unusually high, averaging 37 degrees Celsius, similar to the levels seen in 1950, the head of the National Meteorology Service forecasting unit, F?lix Trujillo, told IPS.

The rains of the warm season (November through April) and the resulting accumulation of water, along with the high temperatures, have provided prime breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the disease, said Alcaraz.

The hardest-hit section of the population are poor families who have no running water and are forced to collect and store water in containers.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito prefers to lay its eggs in clean water that has accumulated in artificial containers like discarded tires, flower pots or old oil drums in shady areas close to human dwellings.

The problems have been compounded by a primary health network that is poorly equipped to detect and address the first symptoms, and by a lack of public awareness on how to prevent the spread of the disease, former health minister Joaqu?n Monasterios told IPS from Santa Cruz.

The lack of health clinics in villages and towns forces patients to go to the city hospitals, which have neither the staff nor the beds nor the medicine to deal with the flood of patients, he explained.

Monasterios did not conceal his fears that the epidemic would continue to get worse, because the rainy season is not yet over, and the mosquitoes? breeding grounds in garbage dumps have not been fully eradicated.

"The health service has collapsed, overwhelmed by this enormous problem. If the number of cases does not go down, with the fumigation and an increase in public awareness, things are going to get extremely serious," he said.

Monasterios pointed out that this particular strain can lead to hemorrhagic dengue, which can be fatal.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which picks up the virus when it feeds on the blood of an infected person, and then goes on to infect other people. The symptoms are fever, headache and muscle pain.

But hemorrhagic dengue causes intense abdominal pain, nausea and bleeding under the skin and into mucous linings, and can be fatal. There is no cure, only treatment of symptoms.

Monasterios also pointed to the heavy flux of people moving over the border between Bolivia and Brazil, which in his view has driven up the number of cases.

The department (province) of Santa Cruz accounts for 70 percent of the cases.

"I feel like the epidemic is not being eradicated because the collection of household waste is deficient, as is the clean-up of the city?s canals and drains," all of which are the municipal government?s responsibility, Yenny Carnero, who lives in Santa Cruz, told IPS.

"We are in a country that is so poor that people even keep useless things," she said, describing the containers and junk that people hang on to, which collect water, providing ideal conditions for the mosquitoes to breed.

President Evo Morales himself has been out operating spraying equipment in poor neighbourhoods around the cities of Santa Cruz and Trinidad, the capital of the department of Beni, as part of mass clean-up and prevention campaigns.

"This is the worst epidemic in this country?s history," said Alcaraz.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Christian Darras told the press in Santa Cruz that "I believe mosquito control efforts have been flagging, and they must be kept up continuously. The guard must never be let down."

Alcaraz regretted that the country?s public health institutions have shown a lack of preparedness against situations like the rise in dengue cases.

In the overrun public hospitals, many patients have spent days in the hallways or have even been left outside, said Alcaraz. (END/2009)

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dengue emergency in Bolivia?s most populated provinces

Source: http://www.spanish.xinhuanet.com/spanish/2009-04/04/content_851816.htm

Anuncian que en tres semanas el dengue dejar? de ser una epidemia en Bolivia

Google translation:
Announced in the three weeks leave to be a dengue epidemic in Bolivia
Updated 04.04.2009 at 15:58:35


LA PAZ, April 3 (Xinhua) - In the three weeks leave to be a dengue epidemic in Bolivia, as the cases that occur per week were reduced from seven thousand to two thousand, and the trend is the continued decline announced today the Ministry of Health.

Health authorities enlist dengue campaign in 2010, and urge prefectures (governments) and municipalities to keep spraying and cleanup, wherever dengue is endemic in at least 122 municipalities of Bolivia.

The manager of Vector Transmitted Diseases in the Ministry of Health and Sports, Juan Carlos Arraya reported that two thousand cases in the past week (late March) confirmed that dengue is controlled in the country.

The peak or highest frequency of cases in the current epidemic of dengue was seven thousand cases a week, which was recorded in the epidemiological weeks seven, eight and nine, in February 2009.

Arraya stressed that to date dengue in the country is on the same level of the third epidemiological week of this year (early January), shortly before they shoot the epidemic. "So we are in fall, and everything suggests that in three weeks everything will be controlled," the doctor.

One of the main factors in the decline of dengue have been developed cleansing campaigns throughout the country, especially the mobilization department that was in Santa Cruz on March 7, which resulted in similar campaigns in other regions.

However, as a dengue-endemic disease (permanent presence) in 122 municipalities, said Arraya is expected cases throughout the year. Therefore it is important to maintain epidemiological surveillance (alert for cases arising) and entomological (study of insects).

"This epidemic in just three weeks. For the new rainy season, which begins in December, we will be prepared, we do surveillance, to assure the population not to repeat the epidemic," he said.

Arraya said that once the end of the current epidemic dengue campaign will be launched by 2010, strengthening the surveillance system, preparing equipment and conducting assessments of the disease every month, and in some places every 15 days, all in order to identify levels of risk to intervene immediately and control the outbreaks.