Prevention of dengue and nationwide awareness on how to recognize the sickness and its symptoms has been sorely lacking this year. Dengue is an endemic illness that recurs every year, especially in tropical climates such as that of the Dominican Republic. In the past, the public health department customarily carried out prevention campaigns on an annual basis, teaching people of the dangers of storaging uncovered water and about how to spot the signs that a person has been infected. This year, however, there has been no national campaign and to the horror of everyone, some 107 attributable deaths have been reported, along with 5,170 possible dengue cases. This number is up from 1,864 cases registered in the first 10 months of 2002 (4,394 cases in the first 10 months of 2003). Diario Libre states that the World Health Organization shows that Cuba has seen 15,000 cases of dengue this year and that there have been 12,000 in Puerto Rico, each place without a single death. The WHO says that the disease’s mortality rate should be less than 1%.
Medical sources show that 75% of the deaths this year can be attributed to the absence of an early or timely diagnosis, and only 20% to inappropriate medical treatment, according to Clemente Guerrero, member of the National Institute of Epidemiology. The victims have mainly been children and the majority of cases are known to be in Santiago, La Vega, Moca, San Francisco de Macoris, Bonao, Bani, San Jose de Ocoa, San Cristobal and Santo Domingo.
Guerrero told Diario Libre: “The fight against dengue has failed this year and now what we must do is fight to lessen the fatalities.” He urges anyone suffering from flu-like symptoms with severe headache or swelling of the eyes, muscles and joints to seek prompt medical attention.
Alejandro Pichardo, the dean of the medical school at the state university (UASD), corroborated the non-existence this year of any dengue prevention program to promote awareness among citizens on the need to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds. “Without mosquitoes, there is no dengue,” he stated in an interview in Hoy newspaper today, and urged efforts to begin teaching the population to identify the symptoms of dengue.
Public Health Minister Dr. Jose Rafael Soldevila has said his department does not have the funding necessary for the prevention programs. Dr. Soldevila said he had his own solution when in a similar position during the government of Antonio Guzman (1978-1982). Back then, Soldevilla became famous for his recommendation that every Dominican kill three mosquitoes to eradicate the illness.
To read further about dengue, see http://dr1.com/travel/prepare/health.shtml#18