MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay: President Lacalle announces first dengue-caused death

Lacalle will decide with Rando the government's next steps

President Luis Lacalle Pou Tuesday confirmed Uruguay's first fatality due to dengue fever in 2024 following a Health Ministry (MSP) report that a possible case was under investigation. The head of state will meet Wednesday with Health Minister Karina Rando at the Suarez y Reyes residency to review possible courses of action with the malady as a priority.

According to the MSP, there were 21 cases of autochthonous dengue (people who contracted the disease with no travel history) in Montevideo, Salto, Paysandú, Artigas, Florida, and Rivera, in addition to 78 imported ones. There are also 33 cases pending laboratory results, of which only five would be autochthonous, as well as one case of chikungunya and another of zika, both of them imported. The last time Uruguay recorded a case of autochthonous dengue was in 2020.

The vast majority of imported dengue cases were from people who had traveled to Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Curacao, the Uruguayan authorities also explained. Particular attention will be given to Uruguayans traveling to these destinations during Tourism Week, Uruguay's lay version of Easter Week, from March 25 to 31.

Buenos Aires City

Meanwhile, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA, Argentina), health authorities launched 18 dengue-specialized units at various hospitals throughout the country's capital. These facilities operate under specialized care protocols for patients with suspected or confirmed diagnoses of dengue fever and were conceived so that emergency rooms could focus on other pathologies.

“It is very important to clarify that we completed special attention to those who have a febrile symptom. We set up independent circuits in all hospitals as we did with Covid. Special care is provided, and we are trying to ensure that the emergency rooms can continue to provide care as usual,” Health Minister Fernán Quirós explained.

Under the dengue protocol, patients are admitted and their information is recorded; then, they are taken to a waiting room where doctors and nurses perform a clinical examination and provide local hydration if necessary (dehydration is common in these cases); laboratory studies are then performed, including a blood draw to test platelet levels and determine severity. After that, a reevaluation is scheduled within 48 hours.

Quirós also noted that 70% of dengue cases “are asymptomatic,” which would account for the long queues at public hospitals. “The most important thing is to detect the severity. The disease generates a high fever and if there is no good hydration the situation can worsen, only when this symptom decreases do the other symptoms that cause concern appear,” he added.

In Buenos Aires, three dengue-caused deaths are recorded daily, according to local media. Nationwide, more than 120 thousand positive cases have been reported in addition to 79 deaths in the last eight months.