Health authorities of the state of Chiapas, on the southernmost tip of Mexico, are reporting a large number of dengue fever cases, prompting a health alert in the area, according to a El Siglo de Torreon news report (computer translated).

Aedes aegypti/CDC
Aedes aegypti/CDC

The state Department of Public Health has revealed that 2,600 cases have been treated this year, 1,350 confirmed and 8 deaths have been recorded.

The head of the vector area of the health jurisdiction 7, Sergio René Torreblanca, highlights that the flows of people moving along the Mexican border with Guatemala raise the risks of dengue and other diseases.

“We must emphasize that we are on the border with other countries of Central America, the high population mobilization that occurs locally and internationally generates the fact that not only this disease but many others can get to enter our country”.

The presence of hemorrhagic dengue cases has led the Mexican health authorities to mobilize squads of brigadistas to control the larva of the mosquito that transmits the virus that causes the disease through its bite.

The control includes the spraying strategy in the areas where probable cases are reported and the nebulization and spatial thermospray to keep the mosquito under control.

In other suburbs of Tapachula and 15 Mexican municipalities near the border with Guatemala, workers in the health sector examine housing conditions and eliminate water containers that facilitate the incubation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the carrier of this disease.

Data from the federal Ministry of Health indicate that in Mexico there have been 14,490 cases of dengue hemorrhagic so far this year and that there are 5,962 probable cases to be confirmed, so he called on the population to be attentive to the symptoms.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. There are four closely related but antigenically different serotypes of the virus that can cause dengue (DEN1, DEN 2, DEN 3, DEN 4).

  • Dengue Fever (DF) – marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and pain in muscles and joints. Some may also have a rash and varying degree of bleeding from various parts of the body (including nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising).Dengue has a wide spectrum of infection outcome (asymptomatic to symptomatic). Symptomatic illness can vary from dengue fever (DF) to the more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).
  • Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) – is a more severe form, seen only in a small proportion of those infected. DHF is a stereotypic illness characterized by 3 phases; febrile phase with high continuous fever usually lasting for less than 7 days; critical phase (plasma leaking) lasting 1-2 days usually apparent when fever comes down, leading to shock if not detected and treated early; convalescence phase lasting 2-5 days with improvement of appetite, bradycardia (slow heart rate), convalescent rash (white patches in red background), often accompanied by generalized itching (more intense in palms and soles), and diuresis (increase urine output).
  • Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) — Shock syndrome is a dangerous complication of dengue infection and is associated with high mortality. Severe dengue occurs as a result of secondary infection with a different virus serotype. Increased vascular permeability, together with myocardial dysfunction and dehydration, contribute to the development of shock, with resultant multiorgan failure.

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