The dengue fever epidemic, a mosquito-borne disease, has killed 445 people in Peru since the start of the year, the worst toll since the disease re-emerged forty years ago, the government announced on Monday.
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Between early January and mid-November, “the number of dengue cases in the country increased to 270,978 and the number of deaths increased to 445,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.
Most deaths (65%) occurred in two northern coastal regions, Piura and Lambayeque, which were hit hard by heavy rains and flooding caused by El Niño and Cyclone Yaku between March and April.
The rains have destroyed drinking water and sewage networks, leading to more cases of dengue fever, but also leptospirosis and diarrheal diseases, particularly in poor or vulnerable regions.
According to the ministry’s report, the highest number of dengue deaths was recorded in June (136), after May with 124 deaths. Excluding these two months, the average number of monthly deaths is 18 per month.
These numbers are well above those of 2022, when 64,000 cases and 86 deaths were reported. They represent the worst figures since the outbreak of the disease in Peru in 1984.
Dengue fever is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, just like malaria, which has the same symptoms. Dengue fever is a virus widespread in hot countries, occurring mainly in urban and semi-urban areas and infecting 100 to 400 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The disease is characterized by high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most severe cases, bleeding that can lead to death.