As early as January this year, Argentina Health Minister Jorge Lemus called dengue fever in the country, including Buenos Aires City, an “epidemic”.
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In a February 2016 New York Times report, Hernán G. Solari, a physics professor at the University of Buenos Aires who researches dengue and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes said concerning the dengue situation at the time, “We’re expecting something even worse than in 2009 (when Argentina saw 27,000 cases). The outbreak will keep growing until March or April.”
It’s not clear if Professor Solari expected the outbreak to be where it is through the first half of 2016. To date, Argentina has reported 75,189 probable and 40,072 confirmed dengue fever cases, including 11 deaths, according to the most recent data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
This is a dramatic number compared to the tally for each of the past 10 years–2015 (4774/1208 probable/confirmed cases), 2014 (3270/490), 2013 (9294/2921), 2012 (274), 2011 (213), 2010 (1185), 2009 (27356), 2008 (43), 2007 (222) and 2006 (245).
The total dengue cases for the western hemisphere to date is 1,712,369 probable and 318,332 confirmed with Brazil accounting for the majority. More than 600 people have died to date.
Related:
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- Zika in Puerto Rico: More than 1300 cases in one week
- St. Eustatius and Zika: CDC issues travel notice
