THE ESSENTIAL
- Dengue fever is a disease transmitted by certain mosquitoes. There is no direct human-to-human transmission.
- Half of the world’s population lives in areas at risk of dengue fever, according to Santé Publique France.
Santé Publique France announced on Monday July 25 that four new cases of dengue had been recorded in the Pyrénées-Orientales, bringing the total number of infected patients to thirteen since May 1.
Contaminated abroad
Like the previous nine, all four “are so-called imported cases. The people concerned were returning from a trip abroad, three were returning from Cuba and one from Reunion”said Guillaume Dubois, departmental delegate of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), in the newspaper L’Indépendant. They have been placed under specific treatment and are fortunately doing well.”
As a precaution, seven sites frequented by the sick (home, workplace, clinic, etc.), including four in Perpignan, were mosquito-controlled in the process, in order to avoid possible local spread.
A fifth suspected case
A fifth patient, suspected of also being infected with the virus, is currently under surveillance in hospital. This is a person who has not traveled and might have been contaminated in Perpignan by a tiger mosquito.
The ARS of the department wished to reassure the population by specifying that there was “currently no cases of autochthonous dengue detected” on the territory, but that it was nevertheless necessary “wait a week to have the results of the investigations” authorities.
“Easy to crush”
Transmitted by the tiger mosquito of the genus Aedesdengue fever is a viral tropical disease that causes, in its usual form, high fever and joint pain (like malaria), but also skin rashes and, in rare cases, serious or even fatal complications.
As a reminder, the tiger mosquito has been present in the Pyrénées-Orientales since 2012, in particular in humid and hot places, as well as inhabited urban areas. Established in 66 other departmentsit is likely to transmit a series of tropical diseases such as chikungunya or the Zika virus (but not Covid-19, according to WHO). Good news, it is not very lively and therefore rather “easy to crush”, according to the expertise of the site Vigilance-Moustiques.
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