THE Public Health Ministry confirmed this week that the second death from hemorrhagic dengue this year took place Oct. 1 when the disease took the life of a 29-year-old woman.The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, died at Hospital San Juan de Dios in downtown San José. According to the Public Health Ministry, 25,613 classic dengue cases and 40 hemorrhagic dengue cases had been registered in the country by Oct. 1, an increase of 283% compared to last year. Most cases were reported in the country’s Atlantic and Pacific regions.The first hemorrhagic dengue death since 1999 was reported in August, when 24-year-old Christian Rodríguez died in a hospital in the Pacific port city of Puntarenas. In 1999, two people died of this disease, a more severe form of dengue.Dengue produces fever, body aches and rashes, and is transmitted by female infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which lay their eggs wherever water is accumulated.Authorities advise eliminating standing water in and near homes as the best method of combating the disease.
