The epidemiological outbreak of dengue continues to increase in the country, as confirmed on Friday night by the Ministry of Health of the Nation, a situation that worries the health authorities. According to the National Epidemiological Bulletin published weekly by the health portfolio, until epidemiological week 13 of 2023 (that is, until 04/01) 28,235 cases of dengue were reported in the country, of which 25,419 acquired the infection in Argentina.
It also reported that there are 14 affected jurisdictions, divided into three regions:
-Central Region (Buenos Aires; Autonomous City of Buenos Aires; Córdoba; Entre Ríos; Santa Fe).
-NEA Region (Corrientes; Formosa; Chaco, Misiones).
-NOA Region (Catamarca; Jujuy; La Rioja; Salta; Santiago del Estero and Tucuman).
Regarding the Central region, Santa Fe appears as the most complicated province, with 7,420 confirmed cases and 9,780 suspects. Then follows the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) with 3,408 positives and 8,118 suspects. Meanwhile, Córdoba registers 1,390 infected and 2,824 suspects.
In the NOA region, Tucumán stands out, which has 5,132 cases according to the National Ministry of Health, although the local health portfolio already accounts for twice as many confirmed cases. It is followed by Salta with 3,820 cases and 7,543 suspects, and Jujuy with 1,932 infected and 3,072 under study.
Finally, in the NEA region, Chaco is the province with the most cases, totaling 124 and there are 450 suspects. And it is followed by Corrientes and Formosa with 107 and 106 cases, respectively.
But this information issued by the National Ministry of Health, through the National Epidemiological Bulletin, is often not updated. By case, recently, the Ministry of Public Health of Chaco reported that from January 1, 2023 to date, 702 suspected cases of Dengue were reported in the province, of which 241 were negative, 396 positive, and 118 are under study. . In other words, of the 124 cases reported by the Nation, 245 must be added to reach the 396 reported by the provincial health portfolio.
The concern of the Chaco province is that there are 3 serotypes of dengue in circulation. Den1 and Den4 were joined by Den2. This is a risk since a person bitten by a mosquito with a serotype can develop severe dengue if it is bitten once more by another infected with a different serotype. Although the probability is low, the possibilities of complications exist: a serious illness can develop and in some circumstances cause death due to hemorrhagic dengue.
“Infection with one of them does not protect once morest the other serotypes,” recalled the Minister of Health Carolina Centeno this Wednesday in an analysis of the epidemiological situation. “This allows us to suspect that if there is a different one from the usual one, the risk of recontagion and complications is greater than what we have been having,” said the minister.
In the same sense, more than 10,000 cases of dengue and seven deaths from the disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito have been registered in the province of Tucumán since last February, reported the local Ministry of Public Health. This data modifies the recent information issued by the Ministry of National Health, which had reported 3 deaths in this province.
“We have already exceeded 10,000 cases of dengue, however, it is likely that this number will increase because there are possibilities of contagion, since there may be patients who have been bitten and the symptoms appear two or three days later,” said the minister. of Health of Tucumán, Luis Medina Ruiz.
The ministry reported the death of two patients diagnosed with dengue, bringing the number of fatalities to seven since February, when the first case was confirmed. Medina Ruiz indicated that there are “many inquiries, but they are controlled.”
The Santa Fe authorities expressed concern regarding the dengue outbreak that totals 7,661 positives, according to figures from the local Ministry of Health. “It is a disease that is here to stay,” said Jorge Prieto, secretary of Health for the province. In this sense, he indicated that they expect the curve to continue to rise in the coming weeks and expressed concern regarding the number of people hospitalized, especially children.
So far there are 14 hospitalized patients, including five minors. Four are in the “Orlando Alassia” hospital in the city of Santa Fe and the rest in Rafaela, 120 km west of the provincial capital. “The most serious case we have is that of a six-month-old baby who is in intensive care, with respiratory assistance and reserved status,” the director of the hospital, Osvaldo González Carrillo, told MDZ. And he added: “he developed sepsis as a result of the infection and generated multi-organ failure.”
In Salta, it is estimated that close to 10% of the inhabitants of the municipality of General Güemes have contracted dengue since the first case was confirmed approximately two months ago. In this way, it can be seen that between 3,500 and 4,000 people were infected with the disease during the outbreak that has affected the province of Salta. In turn, the provincial government reported days ago that “7 deaths from this disease were registered, reported in the General Güemes departments (3); Saint Martin (1); Orán (2) and Rivadavia (1)”. In this vein, deaths have increased since the Epidemiological Bulletin of the National Ministry of Health was issued, which had reported 4 deaths in Salta.
“Luckily, we see that the cases are declining. We cannot say that the problem is coming to an end, but at least we had a week that was a bit calmer than the previous ones, where everything was saturated. Another favorable point that we can rescue is that the serious cases were few, we only recorded three deaths, there are other possible cases, but they might not be reliably determined,” said Dr. Leandro Abaroa, head of Epidemiology at the Joaquín Castellanos hospital.
Jujuy exceeded 1,400 cases of dengue and there was a decrease in people admitted. The Provincial Directorate of Health confirmed that there are 331 new cases of dengue in Jujuy. Meanwhile, 26 people remain hospitalized in public and private health services, in all cases with a favorable prognosis.
The Ministry of Health of Córdoba reported that another 906 cases of dengue were registered in the last week, which brings the total to 1,781 so far this season, for which they ask for extreme prevention measures as well as to go immediately to the doctor before the appearance of symptoms. Laura López, director of Epidemiology, stated: “In week 12 of this season, a peak of 705 cases was registered, which exceeded the peak of the 2020 dengue epidemic. That is, in fewer weeks, the number of cases registered for the same time we had in the worst dengue epidemic in the country”.
“It is remembered that, on April 3, the first case of death from dengue in the Province was confirmed,” they added from the Córdoba health portfolio.
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes genus mosquito, mainly by Aedes aegypti. When the mosquito feeds on the blood of a person infected with the dengue virus, it acquires it and following 8 to 12 days it is capable of transmitting it to a healthy person through its bite.
With regard to dengue, the symptoms are fever accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms: pain behind the eyes; upside down; muscle and joints; nausea and vomiting; intense tiredness; appearance of spots on the skin and itching; bleeding nose and gums.
Before a diagnosis of dengue, it is necessary to follow the instructions of the health personnel and attend follow-up and control consultations. If at the time the fever subsides or in the days that follow, any of the symptoms worsens, reappears, or new symptoms are detected (difficulty breathing, intense abdominal pain, profuse mucosal bleeding, irritability to drowsiness, recurrent vomiting), it is pertinent make an immediate medical consultation.
(Source: Infobae)
