No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeChikungunya bluesCosta Rican health officials seek preventive alert for chikungunya virus

Costa Rican health officials seek preventive alert for chikungunya virus

Health Ministry officials will ask the National Emergency Commission (CNE) to issue a “green alert” to draw attention to the spread of chikungunya after 13 patients tested positive for the virus in the country.

The Health Ministry’s director of health surveillance, María Ethel Trejos, and its general director of health, Priscilla Herrera, on Monday evening said they would submit the preventive alert request to the CNE later this month. Included in that request will be a list of strategies to prevent the virus from spreading.

“We’ll approach the issue as we did during the influenza outbreak, with specific guidelines for schools, health care centers and work places,” Trejos said. The goal is to “help people understand that we all have a role [in preventive action], and no one should wait for ministry staff to eliminate mosquito breeding sites on their own.”

All 13 chikungunya cases here involve people who contracted the virus while traveling abroad. Two patients – one who contracted the virus in Haiti and another in the Dominican Republic – were referred to rheumatology specialists due to the severity of symptoms, Trejos said.

The youngest patient is 4, and all are from the provinces of Cartago, Alajuela and San José.

Herrera recommended that travelers avoid countries with a high number of chikungunya cases, such as the Dominican Republic.

“If the number of cases continues to increase [in Costa Rica], it will have a significant financial cost,” Herrera said, referring to a potential increase in lost days at work and school, and a possible drop in tourism, a current trend in the Dominican Republic.

The chikugunya fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The disease – like dengue – causes fever, severe muscle and joint pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue and rashes. Chikugunya symptoms are more aggressive than dengue symptoms and can persist for up to 10 months.

Trending Now

El Salvador Schools Enforce Military-Style Uniform Inspections

El Salvador's public schools will start enforcing daily inspections for students' uniforms and haircuts from August 20, as ordered by the new education minister,...

Honduras agrees to receive migrants under new US deportation agreement

The US has signed a new deportation agreement with Honduras, allowing officials to send migrants from other countries there instead of keeping them in...

End of Air Canada Strike Brings Relief for Costa Rica-Bound Passengers

Air Canada flight attendants ended their strike Tuesday after reaching a tentative agreement with the airline, paving the way for flights to resume gradually....

Costa Rica’s Role in US Deportation Drama with Salvadoran Migrant

A Salvadoran man at the center of a heated US immigration battle could end up in Costa Rica if he accepts a guilty plea,...

Costa Rica Replaces One-Lane Bridges as Traffic and Population Grow

As the infrastructure of Costa Rica advances, with new four-lane highways and a series of bypasses around San José that avoid the narrow, congested...

Earthquake Shakes Costa Rica’s Central Valley

An earthquake shook Costa Rica early Friday morning. The tremor occurred at 12:45 a.m. with a magnitude of 4.4. Its epicenter was located 1...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica