Central America's recent drought may be causing losses in the country's agriculture sector and the drinking water supply, but the unusually dry rainy season has also meant fewer mosquitoes and a significant drop in the number of cases of dengue in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
RIO DE JANEIRO – Ten thousand mosquitoes immunized against dengue fever have been released in Brazil as part of an innovative attempt to curb the spread of the tropical viral sickness, biologists said Thursday.
Employees at 345 hotels across Costa Rica are conducting cleaning campaigns in their communities to eliminate potential breeding sites for mosquitoes that transmit the dengue and chikungunya viruses. The good news is that the number of dengue cases has dropped by 79 percent this month compared to the same period last year.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – At least 16,000 patient have contracted the chikungunya virus in El Salvador, prompting health officials in the Central American country to step up the fight Monday to eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes.
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 vaccine proved effective against dengue symptoms in 56.5 percent of those studied and even more effective against the hemorrhagic fever, at 88.5 percent.
Health officials are analyzing blood samples from a 17-year-old man and 30-year-old woman who could become the first two cases of Costa Ricans to test positive for the chikungunya virus.
Health Vice Minister María Esther Anchía on Friday confirmed that a French tourist is officially the first patient to test positive for the chikungunya virus in Costa Rica.
Cases of dengue have multiplied nearly five times in the last 10 years in Latin America, affecting 2.3 million people in 2013, even though its mortality rate dropped, according to figures released this Thursday by the Pan American Health Organization.
