The Dominican Republic has registered 7,574 cases of dengue fever in first five months of 2024

Santo Domingo – As of May 31, the Dominican Republic had 7,574 cases of dengue fever, as it now faces the beginning of the season of greatest circulation of the virus, driven by the heat and the rains, which favor the spread of the vector.

This was emphasized yesterday by the local representation of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), highlighting the effort made by the country to keep dengue cases under control and the support offered by this organization to the different actions being developed, including the training of health personnel.

It indicates that in response to the worrying increase in dengue cases in the region of the Americas in 2024, the Dominican Republic has reinforced its actions to combat this disease with the support of PAHO/WHO and highlights that so far this year, the countries of the region have reported more than 8.6 million cases of dengue, surpassing the 5.6 million in 2023.

Facing the challenge

In a press document, PAHO in the Dominican Republic indicates that the country is now facing the beginning of the season of increased dengue circulation, driven by heat and rains, which favor the spread of the vector.

To address this challenge, he recalled that the Ministry of Public Health launched last March 20 the Dominican Republic’s National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Dengue, based on PAHO’s Integrated Management Strategy (EGI) for the prevention and control of arboviral diseases.

He recalls that this plan seeks to strengthen the country’s capacity for early detection, clinical management of cases, intersectoral coordination and integrated vector management, with a cross-cutting axis of communication and community participation for behavioral change in dengue prevention.

Positive impact

It emphasizes that this integrated approach has shown to have a positive impact in controlling the spread of the disease and that political commitment at the highest level has been fundamental in preparing the country to face the threat of dengue and has been reflected in the intersectoral coordination between the Ministries of Health, Education, municipalities, academia, specialized medical societies and representatives of civil society.

He highlights that during 2024, PAHO/WHO, both the regional office and the national team, in coordination with the National Health Service (SNS) and universities, have supported the training of health professionals at different levels of care, including more than 1,200 doctors from provinces throughout the country and more than 570 medical and nursing students.

Collaboration

The PAHO/WHO representative in the Dominican Republic, Alba María Ropero Álvarez, highlighted the Organization’s collaboration in the deployment of communication and community participation campaigns to raise awareness among the population about the importance of their active and permanent participation in dengue prevention and early care seeking.

He said that PAHO has supported the design and reproduction of educational material for mass distribution to health personnel in emergency rooms, outpatient consultations and hospitalization, including algorithms for the clinical management of dengue cases.

In addition, it has supported vector control actions to reduce the populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit dengue, chikungunya and Zika, through the training of entomologists, epidemiologists and environmental health personnel and the organization of breeding ground elimination days.

He emphasizes that it is essential to maintain these interventions and the involvement of all governmental sectors and society to effectively control dengue.