2023-12-31 04:00:00
Argentina has been facing its worst dengue epidemic during 2023, with more than 135,000 dengue cases and 68 deaths. During the last 4 weeks there was a new increase in cases of patients diagnosed with the infection in the Federal Capital, province of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Formosa, Chaco, Misiones, Corrientes and Santiago del Estado. There is a risk that there will also be circulation of the virus in Northern Patagonia.
“In the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro, the presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which serves as a vector of the dengue virus, has already been detected, although no cases of people with the infection have been reported,” he told Rio Negro Newspaper Teresa Strella, former national director of control of communicable diseases of the National Ministry of Health and member of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases and the Argentine Society of Vaccinology and Epidemiology.
Due to climate change induced by human activities – stated Dr. Strella – there is a risk that the mosquito’s geographic area will expand and that there will be autochthonous cases in provinces such as Neuquén and Río Negro. Therefore, it is essential to anticipate with continuous prevention, surveillance and control activities of potential mosquito breeding sites.”
It is key that each person commits to checking their home and surroundings and eliminating possible mosquito breeding sites: their larvae can be in products such as lids, unused rubber bands, open bottles, vases, among other objects.
It must be taken into account that unlike what is often believed, “fumigation is not a definitive solution nor the most effective to eliminate mosquitoes or prevent the diseases they transmit,” according to the national Health portfolio.
Although in hot seasons, fumigation helps to reduce insects, it is necessary to know that it only kills a portion of the adult mosquitoes and does not affect the larvae, pupae and eggs. For this reason, it is mainly used as a control measure in the event of a health emergency, that is, when a suspected case of Zika, dengue or chikungunya appears,” clarified the Ministry of Health of the Nation.
The mosquito Temples of the Egyptians It is small, with black and white stripes on its legs and abdomen. All stages of the life cycle (egg, larva, pupa and adult) occur in the home and/or peridomiciliary environment, since there they obtain food and shelter, and in suitable sites to use as breeding sites, which are necessary conditions to ensure their survival, according to the Neuquén Ministry of Health.
The Secretariat of Services, Public Space and Environment of Viedma, headed by Gastón Gutiérrez, met with mosquito and pest management experts from the National University of Río Negro and the Regional Unit of Epidemiology and Environmental Health (URESA). The official expressed: “The commitment of residents to avoid the accumulation of water in their homes and patios is important. After each rain, mosquitoes deposit their eggs in places that contain water, which then transform into larvae, and they only need between five and six days of temperatures equal to or greater than 24°C to emerge.”
Some of the measures that must be taken are: changing pets’ water daily, ensuring the elimination of cans, buckets, tarps in patios that accumulate water, leveling land to avoid permanent flooding and taking the initiative to cover those objects. that cannot be disposed of as tanks, sinks or containers used to collect water.
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