2023-06-23 17:00:24
The country is facing its worst health crisis since 1990, especially near the border with Ecuador. The arrival of El Niño might further amplify the phenomenon.
It is a health crisis that has already killed more than 200 people in Peru. For Valerie Paz-Soldan, an infectious disease expert from Cayetano Heredia University, this is the “strongest” epidemic wave since the reappearance of dengue fever in the country in 1990. This disease transmitted by the tiger mosquito is manifests suddenly following two to seven days of incubation. We first observe the appearance of a high fever often accompanied by headaches, nausea, vomiting, joint and muscle pain. Subsequently, there is the appearance of rashes resembling those of measles.
This epidemic wave reappeared because of Cyclone Yaku which hit the region in March. The dengue-transmitting mosquito is attracted by the heavy rains caused, which allow it to reproduce more quickly. Between January 1 and March 4, 2023, a total of 20,017 dengue cases were reported, of which 25 resulted in patient deaths. More recently, on June 13, the defender of the people, César Orrego, an independent personality in charge of defending human rights, ensured that the balance sheet of the epidemic now reached 82 dead, including 11 children, while more than 44,000 people were infected in the desert department of Piura. The highest cumulative incidence of dengue cases in Peru was recorded in 2017, with 68,290 reported cases. The number of people infected since June 13 is already more than half the record number of 2017.
This health crisis arises before El Niño, which means that when the meteorological phenomenon will point the tip of its nose, the scale of the epidemic is likely to spread even more. El Niño might cause heavy flooding due to poor drainage and inevitable overflow of rivers. This would expose the population to extreme levels of dengue fever, intestinal parasites, cholera, malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin diseases and others.
Accused of having mismanaged the epidemic crisis, the Minister of Health, Rosa Gutiérrez, was forced to resign on June 15 and was replaced by Oscar Ugarte.
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