For the first time in years, the islands of Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde of the coast of western Africa have reported confirmed dengue fever cases, according to an Observador report (computer translated).
According to the director of the Surveillance and Response to Epidemics Service of the National Directorate of Health, Maria de Lurdes Monteiro, since the end of December, Cape Verde has registered 23 confirmed cases of dengue fever.
Since the confirmation of the first three cases in December in the city of Praia, the Ministry of Health has strengthened its measures to fight mosquitoes and has opted for actions to raise the awareness of health professionals for the active surveillance of suspected cases. “At this moment, specialists from the Pasteur Institute in Dakar are working in the laboratory of Achadinha, in the city of Praia, to help carry out the exams and reinforce the question of surveillance and responses,” said Maria de Lurdes Monteiro.
There has not been any dengue fever recorded in Cape Verde since 2010.
Dengue is transmitted by the mosquito aedes aegypti, which is responsible for the transmission of yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika. Between late 2015 and mid-2016, Cape Verde reported a Zika epidemic, with more than 7,500 suspected cases and 15 cases of microcephaly in infants associated with the virus.
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