2024-03-15 07:00:48
An octogenarian living in the north of the country died of dengue fever. This brings to four the number of patients whose deaths are directly attributed to the disease. Six other deaths were also recorded. However, these are patients who tested positive for the disease, but who may have succumbed to their comorbidities, according to the Ministry of Health.
Despite these tragic losses due to dengue, the latest data provides a glimmer of hope in the fight once morest the disease. According to Dr Kursheed Meethoo-Badulla, Non-Communicable Disease Coordinator at the Ministry of Health, the number of dengue cases appears to be decreasing. She says the positivity rate has fallen from 27% over 100 tests to just 6% over 500 to 600 daily tests.
She adds that the same is true for the number of hospitalizations, which have fallen from 70 to 80 cases per day two weeks ago to less than 55 to 60 per day over the past ten days. “Those who were admitted to hospital were not only because they were dengue positive, but also because of their comorbidities,” she said.
Multiple teams on the ground have also noted a drop in the number of mosquitoes and larvae. But we will have to wait for the next few weeks to see if this trend continues.
The country is going through an unprecedented dengue epidemic period. Never before has Mauritius officially recorded more than 3,000 cases of dengue. Given that 50% to 90% of cases are asymptomatic, the real number of cases is much higher than it seems.
It is still the regions of Port-Louis and its surroundings, as well as various localities in the north of the island, which are among the most affected, according to information communicated on March 12, 2024. Cases were also detected on the side of the Flacq region, as well as a small concentration in the Beau-Bassin region and in certain regions of the central plateau. “Cases are being recorded around these areas due to population mobility,” says Dr Meethoo-Badulla.
She specifies that intervention measures are continuing, such as fumigation and “larviciding”, or rapid tests carried out in health centers, so that those who are infected benefit from rapid treatment. . “Intensive awareness campaigns are also carried out on the ground, whether in schools or in the workplace,” she assures.
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