Dengue-free Uraguay prepare for the emergence of the virus
Along with Chile, Uruguay was the only Latin American country that was considered “dengue-free”; however, health officials are investigating four suspected cases of dengue – three in the nation’s capital of Montevideo and one in the western department of Paysandú,according to an Infosurhoy.com report last week.
We are looking at the situation regionally and trying to prepare the bestpossible [response to] the emergence of dengue,” says Gabriela Willat, a director at the Ministry of Public Health.
The concerns of the emergence of dengue are based on what is happening with their neighbors to the north in southern Brazil.
Health officials in the southwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul are battling a epidemic-like surge of dengue fever in which some 9,000 cases have been reported from the capital city during the month of January.
Dengue fever is caused by one of four different but related viruses. It is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is found in tropic and subtropic regions.
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