Dengue Prevention is on the Rise and Showing Results in Costa Rica.

The number of people incapacitated through Dengue has significantly gone down this year in comparison with last year’s figures, according to a study conducted by the Caja de Seguros (CCSS), the social security system of Costa Rica. About 10.500 people have been affected this year with 5.400 people requiring treatment in a hospital, costing the country more than $2.2 million.

The majority of patients are part of the working force, people who end up having to take days off work while they are recuperating from the mosquito born disease. Last year however, Dengue cost the country an astonishing $10.2 million with 25,000 people affected. Looking at it this way, it seems that the situation is under control. The main affected area though remains to be Limon, but with the numbers dropping it looks like the region’s October Carnaval celebrations will still have a green light. The collection of old tires and plastic recipients of any kind is still being carried out throughout country to prevent excessive standing water, and a government campaign, organized in a joint action by the CCSS, IFAM and Holcim, is to take place these coming three months.

A recent study however may reveal that old tires may not be the only culprits! Experts of the University of Costa Rica are using a satellite to study the famous, or rather the infamous dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The study displays a Costa Rica map in minute detail in the way GoogleEarth does, and the mosquitoes’ breeding grounds and habits can be followed closely.

While the old tires persists in being a source of danger, any kind of old recipients can be used, old plastic boxes, toys, disused restrooms, holes in the ground, anything at all that is left unattended and where water can accumulate provide a good nesting ground for the insect. Vigilance therefore is the key, together with common sense. A mosquito flying over some back yard is not going to disregard an old bucket and fly away just because there isn’t and old tire there. Areas with lots of trees have also been looked at closely, as it seems they are also favored by the mosquitoes, in other words, the more trees, the more care should be taken.

It seems that education plays a key role here. In isolated areas people may not be aware of the dangers, and realize that a little effort could save them from this horrible disease. While Dengue by itself is not fatal, once an individual has caught it they become more likely to develop the Dengue hemorrhagic fever that is a severe, often fatal, complication of Dengue. Young children are usually less affected than adults.

The way the mosquito transmits the disease is by biting an infected person and then by biting someone else. Unlike the mosquitoes that cause malaria, dengue mosquitoes bite only during the day, another small detail many are not aware of! The virus is common in many tropical countries in the world, including Africa, the Americas, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. It is especially common in the Caribbean; however this mosquito doesn’t like high altitudes and is almost never found in mountainous areas.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on August 21st, 2008