MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mosquito transmitted dengue is back in Paraguay with 59 reported cases

Aedes mosquito bites transmit the dengue virus

Paraguay has admitted 59 cases of the mosquito transmitted disease dengue mostly concentrated in the north of the land-locked tropical country.

“Most cases are to the north mainly in the department of Concepción, where the necessary measures to combat the propagation of the mosquitoes has been implemented” said Julio César Manzur head of Paraguay’s National Service of Disease controls.

Manzur added that his office is permanently monitoring of the potential larvae infestation degrees in the different quarters of the capital Asunción and several urban areas in the rest of the country.

“We have ongoing fumigation programs that should be fully operational in the coming weeks”, said Manzur.

Neighbouring Argentina has also confirmed a first case in the north of the country, although apparently the patient recently returned from a holiday in Mexico.

Last summer Paraguay, Bolivia, southern Brazil and northern Argentina suffered tens of thousands of cases of dengue in what seemed an uncontrolled epidemic.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms appear 3—14 days after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children and adults.

According to the World Health Organization symptoms range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue. It is important to maintain hydration.