On behalf of the Minister of Health, Pierre Dimba, Professor Bénié Bi Vroh Joseph, Director of the National Institute of Public Hygiene gave an update on the situation on the dengue epidemic in Côte d’Ivoire.
“Since the beginning of 2022, the epidemiological surveillance service of the National Institute of Public Hygiene (INHP) recorded, as indicated in the press release from the National Security Council yesterday, eleven (11) confirmed cases of dengue including one death. As of May 5, 2022, the epidemiological situation is as follows: Cocody-Bingerville health district: 8 cases, 1 death; Treichville-Marcory health district: 2 cases, 0 deaths; and Adiaké Health District: 1 case, 0 deaths. As in any epidemic, the number of cases is likely to evolve. Also, all health services are on alert. And a point will be made as the situation evolves,” he clarified.
He also specifies that “the epidemiological and entomological investigations carried out have revealed the presence of mosquitoes responsible for the transmission of the disease as well as a recent circulation of the virus in the health district of Cocody-Bingerville”.
Emergency measures
Faced with this new appearance of a virus, the ministry has set up an emergency plan. It is a multisectoral and multidisciplinary fight, involving different ministries, local authorities and civil society.
It is broken down as follows: activation of the Public Health Emergency Operations Center; sensitizing populations on preventive measures; epidemiological and entomological investigation; mosquito control in high-risk areas; distribution of mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides in families and development of a response plan once morest this disease.
Go to the nearest health center and avoid self-medication
To this, the Ministry of Health asks people to be vigilant. For this, the director of the Inhp “recommends respecting the emptying of all water reservoirs following each rain; to drain stagnant water; to avoid keeping in the houses and in the surroundings, containers containing water, in particular canaries, pans, old tires, carcasses of vehicles; to weed around the houses; to sleep under impregnated mosquito net insecticide and put anti-mosquito grids on the doors and windows of the houses”.
He also invited people to “go to the nearest health center and avoid self-medication, in the event of the appearance of symptoms of the disease”.
Symptoms
Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, commonly known as the tiger mosquito. The most serious form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, is a life-threatening complication.
This disease is manifested by high fever associated with headaches, body aches, joint pain, retro orbital pain and intense fatigue. The severe form is characterized by bleeding, abdominal pain, vomiting which can lead to the death of the patient.
