The mosquito that transmits dengue is highly adapted to living with humans, so although it is an endemic disease, it can present epidemic behavior at any time, causing hospitalizations and deaths.

The president makes the warning of the Dominican Society of Epidemiology, Dr. Clevy Pérez Sánchez, who sees the time as opportune, in which the pressure from Covid-19 has been reduced, for the health authorities to resume the educational campaigns directed and the families join the work to eliminate breeding sites for the transmitting mosquito.

Although only a few dengue cases are presently observed, one cannot lose sight of the mosquito as very urban; it is very present in provinces with a higher population density. Furthermore, there have been significant rains in recent days, so What should be done to prevent outbreaks from occurring?

The president of the Society of Infectious Diseases referred to information published by Listín Diario regarding the increase in dengue cases reported by the epidemiological surveillance system compared to what happened in the same period last year and to the suggestion made in its editorial published yesterday with the title “Watch out for dengue now,” where he calls for speeding up the plans to prevent further transmission.

He recalled that mosquito bites transmit both dengue and malaria. Although the latter is a more rural disease concentrated in identified points or foci, the former is more widespread nationwide and with higher incidence. Remember that when there is a reduction in public services, especially drinking water, people begin to store it, so it is always essential to maintain permanent education campaigns on preventive measures, including covering the water well and cleaning with chlorine containers, the use of repellents and mosquito nets in places where there are mosquitoes, and eliminate the breeding sites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that breeds in clean water.

Continuing education
The specialist suggested that people who live in buildings guide maintenance people to avoid accumulations of water that become breeding grounds and do the same in the environments of individual houses, which should eliminate pots from the patios.

He considers it essential that preventive campaigns be permanent because what is observed is that when educational sessions are held, the incidence of dengue decreases, but when they stop being carried out, people forget the measures that prevent contracting the disease.

COVID-19
Two deaths.
Two deaths from Covid-19 were registered in the country yesterday, bringing the number of fatalities recorded by the system linked to the pandemic to 4,374. Meanwhile, despite the drastic reduction in the demand for hospitalization, the country had some 129 patients hospitalized in regular areas, and 30 were in the ICU.