The dengue virus has posed a latent threat to Peruvians since the 1990s. But as is the case with other disasters, it usually catches the state unprepared, which acts in reverse when the situation has already escalated. After an alarming 2023 with 18 deaths and 12,264 infections caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, specialists had given clear recommendations on what to do to prevent similar damage to public health. This includes prevention measures, the purchase of medicines, communication strategies, improving infrastructure, training specialists and improving the population's access to drinking water, as the mosquito is known to lay its eggs in stagnant water. However, the authorities' reaction again came too late.
On February 5, as cases soared and a dozen deaths were reported, Health Minister César Vásquez Sánchez denied that it was an epidemic and did not yet consider a declaration of a state of emergency necessary. Three weeks later, the government backed down and accepted the crisis by declaring a state of emergency in 20 regions for a period of 90 days. In just two months, dengue fever has killed more Peruvians than in all of 2023: 32 confirmed deaths, plus eight more under investigation, and 31,364 infected people. According to statistics, the increase compared to 2023, taking into account the same period, is 97%.
“It is not yet an epidemic situation in Lima, but we cannot wait for an untenable situation to arise.” That is why we decided to declare a state of emergency in the five regions where there are the most cases, on the 20th to go to those who are at immediate risk and where the infection can increase,” explained Minister Vásquez, who is now taking over the promise of prevention. By the seventh week, according to data from the National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Disease Control, the regions where the virus has spread the most are: La Libertad (4,207), Piura (4,155), Ica (3,313), Ãncash (2,462), San Martín (1,633) and Lima (1,495).
Dengue patients in Piura, June 2023. Martin Mejia (AP)
The worrying thing is when you compare it with the prevalence of previous years in the same period: for example, in the coastal region of Libertad, at this point in 2023, just fourteen cases have been recorded. Incasch only had three infected people and Lima had twenty-two. The forecasts are not at all encouraging. And the Health Minister himself couldn't hide it: “March and April will be significantly stronger,” he said briefly about the increase in the infection curve.
Adding to the health deficits is the context: the weather conditions, the hotbed that cities have become and the heavy rains due to the El Niño phenomenon. As temperatures rise, the number of adult mosquitoes expands for good reason: their development, which used to take a week, is now rapid: it takes an average of three days. It must be emphasized that there are regions where there is a shortage of drinking water and buckets and other containers are usually used which, if not given the necessary care, will ultimately become a source of dengue. According to the National Superintendency of Sanitation Services (Sunass), 3.3 million Peruvians still do not have a public drinking water network and 6.4 million do not have a sewage connection.
For infectious disease specialist Juan Carlos Celis, ensuring hospital care is the most important thing, not fumigation. “Everything is written. The problem is the force and speed with which it happens. It is already late for the fumigation campaigns. Complete dengue units are needed: 12 beds, 5 doctors, 5 nurses and 10 technicians. All trained. At least two complete teams for thirty hospital patients. “Unfortunately, history repeats itself,” he emphasizes.
Three of the four known dengue serotypes are currently circulating in Peru: DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-3. As is known, the most common symptoms of dengue are high fever, muscle pain, rash, dehydration and headache. If not treated promptly, the condition can become complicated and affect vital organs. In addition to triggering effects on the nervous system and on the blood system (significant decrease in blood platelets).
According to the Pan American Health Organization, through the sixth week of 2024, Peru recorded the highest death rate in South America and the third in the entire continent: 0.1167, just below Panama (0.1916) and Honduras (0.1411). Since the party is against it, the Ministry of Health wants to flatten the curve these days with training and discussions on how to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
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