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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has called on health officials in the region to prepare for the possibility of a severe outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever .
In a statement released Thursday, CARPHA said the latest regional dengue fever outbreak occurred in 2009.
"Since then, the region has experienced two major outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases, Chikungunya in 2014 and Zika in 2016, which are not expected to reoccur soon."
The regional agency also said that "disease modeling predicts that another regional dengue epidemic could occur in the near future," adding that Latin America had shown an increase in the number of cases dengue last year.
CARPHA also discussed the recent outbreak of dengue fever in Jamaica, noting that this has increased the level of concern in other Caribbean islands.
"The Caribbean Public Health Agency therefore advises countries to implement enhanced measures to reduce mosquito breeding and prevent the spread of the disease."
Dengue fever is a flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults. Symptoms usually begin four to ten days after infection and include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and a characteristic rash.
This disease can progress to severe dengue fever, characterized by life-threatening complications, such as internal bleeding, intense and continuous abdominal pain or tenderness, and persistent vomiting. In some cases, dengue fever can be serious and cause death.
Dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases threaten health, tourism, social and economic development, and a collaborative effort is needed to reduce the spread of the disease. Dengue remains a global health problem and, like Zika and Chikungunya, there is no specific treatment for the disease. The mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, which spreads dengue, is present in all Caribbean territories.
The measures used to control the spread of dengue are the same as for Zika and Chikungunya because these diseases are also transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. With the arrival of the rainy season in a few months, mosquito control and awareness activities need to be intensified. Caribbean ministries of health are urged to: – increase health promotion messages to prevent mosquito bites and mosquito breeding; combine efforts with communities to eliminate mosquito breeding sites; intensify vector surveillance and control and disseminate appropriate guidelines for clinical care and treatment
According to the agency, the most effective way to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is to prevent mosquito bites.
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