Dengue death toll reaches 43

SantoDomingo.- Deaths caused by dengue fever totaled 43 cases as of the first week of this month,10 more than during the same period last year.

Nonetheless, theGeneral Epidemiological Directorate at the Ministry of Public Health says thatthe disease is within the safety range, rising at times to alarming levels.

Thenumber of cases so far this year is 3,807 and 235 suspectedcases were reported from August 2-8, including two deaths, for a total of 965 in the last fourweeks. The provinces with the highest incidence are Santo Domingo, National District, Juan Sánchez Ramírez, San Cristóbal, La Vega, Duarte, Monseñor Nouel andHermanas Mirabal.

Theepidemiological report establishes the death rate at 1.1 per 100 cases ofdengue.

TheRobert Reid Cabral pediatric hospital has treated more than 300 children fordengue in recent months.

EpidemiologistLuis Reyes said that there are many cases and attributed it to the droughtaffecting the country, which leads people to store water, which increases thebreeding grounds for the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, which if notcorrectly treated can be fatal.

Therecent deaths registered by the authorities are of two children aged 11 and 13. Thefirst victim, who lived in the neighborhood of Gualey, died after being taken to the SantoSocorro pediatric hospital on August 6. Thesecond child, from San Cristóbal, died at the Plaza de la Salud General Hospital.

Malariais another vector-transmitted disease, and nine cases were reported this month,eight local and one from the West African country of Burkina Faso, a 43-yearold man living in Monte Cristi. The homegrown cases were in La Altagracia andSanto Domingo.