MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Three cases of rare newly-born with dengue in north Argentina

Two children were born with dengue in the northern Argentine province of Salta, more precisely in the town of Orán after their mothers caught the mosquito transmitted disease in the last week of pregnancy, according to what was reported.

Fortunately one of them has already been sent home and the other remains hospitalized, but recovering.

This would be the second and third contagion cases of newly-born with dengue in Argentina and the sixth reported in the world. The others apparently occurred in Mexico and Venezuela.

“The corresponding treatment was been undertaken and we already have sent one of the babies home” reported Luis Arias, manager of the San Vicente de Paul Hospital. .

In this context, Arias called on obstetricians to be most alert to dengue symptoms in pregnant women “particularly in the last three months of gestation”.

The three confirmed cases in Salta of congenital dengue are a challenge for doctors and epidemiologists since there are no explanations in the medicine texts as how the disease reaches and affects the newly born.

Mr. Arias also revealed that 700 blood samples to be tested for dengue had been sent in February to Buenos Aires, which reveals the magnitude of the epidemics. Apparently medical practice is to send one sample out of ten suspect cases, so that would mean that last February Salta had at least 7.000 suspect cases of the Aedes aegyptus mosquito transmitted disease.

He also revealed that the Pergamino lab where all dengue blood samples from Argentina are sent “has collapsed” overwhelmed by the number of suspect cases to test.

Argentine sanitary officials only admit the existence of 12.000 confirmed cases of dengue, but doctors associations insist the number is well over 40.000 and several provincial hospitals in the north of the country simply can’t cope with so many patients.

Authorities have admitted that a few “imported” cases of dengue have been reported in the province of Buenos Aires and in the federal capital Buenos Aires, but “they are limited and under control”.

Nevertheless the disease seems to have acquired epidemics magnitude. Only a week ago the Argentine Congress had reached a political agreement to declare a national emergency, which included the necessary resources to combat the disease and complete transparency as to the true number of dengue cases.

But at last moment the husband of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Nestor Kirchner surprised everybody, including the Ministry of Public Health, by back stepping and denying any possibility of an epidemic or any sanitary emergency.

Apparently the Kirchners administration was fearful of the impact of a national dengue emergency on the tourist trade, according to the most reliable political annalists from Buenos Aires