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Chikungunya cases continue rise, Most in the Asunción metropolitan area
In a follow-up on the chikungunya outbreak in Paraguay, the General Directorate of Health Surveillance reports the progressive increase in cases persists.
In the three epidemiological weeks evaluated (EW2, EW3, EW4) this year, a total of 8,442 cases of chikungunya and 80 of dengue were recorded.
“It is a bit worrying that, from the metropolitan area of Asunción, we will spread the epidemic in this month of February, with all the movement of people,” said Dr. Guillermo Sequera, general director of Health Surveillance.
He also mentioned that chikungunya cases continue to expand outside the epicenter, which are Central and Asunción, to other neighboring departments, such as Cordillera, Paraguarí, Presidente Hayes, Concepción, Alto Paraguay, Amambay, among others.
In this regard, the general director of Health Surveillance stated that “Loma Pytã, San Vicente, San Pablo, Barrio Obrero or Saxony are the ones with the most cases, but there is no neighborhood that is spared in Asunción in terms of chikungunya cases. At the Central level, San Lorenzo, Capiatá, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré and Luque are the municipalities with the most cases in the last three weeks ”, he declared.
“The approximate proportion is one case of dengue for every hundred of chikungunya. Almost 99% of the cases are in the Asunción metropolitan area,” said Dr. Sequera.
In addition, six people have died–two in children under one year of age, and four people over 75 years of age.
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Hospitals reorganize care due to the increase in cases
Due to the strong demand for consultations by citizens about chikungunya cases, the Directorate of Health Services and Networks of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare reports carrying out a reorganization of care in hospitals in Asunción and the metropolitan area.
In recent weeks, the Directorate of Health Services and Networks monitored patient care, which revealed a significant increase in the number of consultations. The need of more rooms to provide quality care to patients and care for pregnant women and pediatric patients, whose demand grew in this sector.
Dr. Leticia Pintos, director of Health Services and Networks of the MSPyBS took advantage of the occasion to reiterate the care that pregnant women should have. “In the last stage of pregnancy, if you have feverish symptoms, go to consult, do the pertinent controls to verify that everything is kept in order.”
It should be remembered that the recommendation of the General Directorate of Health Surveillance is that patients from Asunción and Central municipalities who present a positive chikungunya diagnosis by laboratory, their close ties who develop symptoms consistent with the disease, will be confirmed by epidemiological link without the need to take laboratory samples, in medical consultation.
However, this DGVS indication also mentions that the PCR test for the diagnosis of chikungunya will be performed on children under 5 years of age, people over 60 years of age, pregnant women, patients with comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, immunodeficiency), patients hospitalized and deceased.
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