By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Costa Rica Ministry of Health has reported 2,689 dengue fever cases year to date. This is triple the number of cases reported during the same period last year (920).

Aedes aegypti/CDC

Dengue serotypes 1 and 2 are circulating in the country.

In Pérez Zeledón canton, authorities declared a dengue outbreak as 215 cases were reported in a week and 450 cases in Brunca Region.

The Brunca Region has invested nearly 80 million colones from January to April 2020 for vector control, both in human and material resources, however, it reiterates to the population the individual responsibility for:

  • Eliminate hatcheries such as tires, containers, buckets, animal waterers and black plastics.
  • Apply mosquito repellent to exposed skin.
  • Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
  • Using mosquito nets

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WHO notes the incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic and hence the actual numbers of dengue cases are underreported and many cases are misclassified.

One estimate indicates 390 million dengue infections per year (95% credible interval 284–528 million), of which 96 million (67–136 million) manifest clinically (with any severity of disease). Another study, of the prevalence of dengue, estimates that 3.9 billion people, in 128 countries, are at risk of infection with dengue viruses.

Aedes aegypti mosquito