No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta RicaHealth officials fight to avoid outbreaks of waterborne diseases

Health officials fight to avoid outbreaks of waterborne diseases

See also: Here’s how you can donate to Hurricane Otto relief in Costa Rica

Health Ministry staff arrived Monday at various communities in the Northern Zone to fumigate and collect debris left by flooding and overflowing rivers during the passage of Hurricane Otto.

The crews’ work aims to avoid the proliferation of mosquito-breeding sites, especially for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, the main carriers for Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses.

Vice Minister María Esther Anchía said at a press conference that standing water “poses a severe risk of increasing the number of mosquito-breeding sites as well as other diseases in the area.” The water can “increase risk of outbreaks of other diseases such as hepatitis, leptospirosis, respiratory infections and skin problems,” she said.

Anchía said that ministry crews on Monday fumigated 270 houses, mainly in Upala, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Otto.

Rodrigo Marín, coordinator of the ministry’s Vector Program, said that they also fumigated three shelters where crews found and eliminated 15 active breeding sites.

Anchía said that 47 people, 17 of them minors, suffered from diarrhea over the weekend at two shelters in Upala. The outbreak is now under control, she said.

Flooding at Upala, Hurricane Otto. Nov. 28, 2016.
(Via Casa Presidencial)

Stepping up measures

President Luis Guillermo Solís said at a press conference earlier on Monday that health officials will increase sanitary measures including setting up more toilets, showers and drinking water sources at the 42 shelters where more than 3,000 Costa Ricans are still being housed.

Ministry officials also sent more supplies of chlorinated water, soap and disinfectant gel to the shelters on Monday .

They are distributing drinking water to various communities in the northern region with the help of National Police officers.

The ministry is also coordinating efforts to send more garbage trucks to collect debris and waste from shelters and communities.

The National Meteorological Institute forecasts that rains will continue in the Northern Zone prompted by a cold front that entered over the weekend.

 

Trending Now

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...

Former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Faces Trial

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, who served as Costa Rica’s president from 1998 to 2002, returned to court on today, to face charges in the so-called...

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...

Costa Rica President Confronts Calls to Strip Immunity

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves denounced today an “attempted judicial coup” as he appeared before a congressional committee that must recommend to the full...

The Most Clueless Gringo in Costa Rica: A Satirical Take on Expat Life

If part of your online day includes mindless scrolling through reels, you’ve probably seen the Dos Equis beer parody commercials. The original ads featured the...

Guatemala Prisons Erupt in Violence With Guards and Workers Taken Hostage

Gang members rioted this Friday in two prisons in Guatemala and took several guards and civilian employees hostage, a week after uprisings in which...
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