The head of the Ministry of Health, Teresa Barán, spoke this Monday through Monumental 1080 AM regarding the cases of dengue that continue to increase in the country, after the first alert that was issued on September 27.
In this regard, he warned that cases are expected to continue multiplying in summer, especially from the end of November, whose curve would only begin to decline in March of next year.
He asserted that it could become the “worst epidemic” of the disease in terms of magnitude and that it would worsen due to the possible arrival of DEN 3 or hemorrhagic dengue, which currently affects Brazil.
He said that this scenario is expected mainly because Paraguayans usually travel to the neighboring country during the summer season and that, for this reason, the Ministry of Health is already beginning to prepare its staff to receive patients.
“The serious problem is that many Paraguayans go to Brazil and I can assure you that they are going to come sick, there is DEN 3. Taking these projections into account, we began to train Health personnel. “We are doing a refresher course on what the diagnosis, management and treatment of dengue is,” she said.
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The minister pointed out that the risk of the condition appearing in its severe forms is between days 4 or 5 of symptoms, so it is important that doctors are prepared to ensure that the patient begins treatment on time.
“Managing 10 emergency cases is not the same as handling 100 simultaneously. We are not prepared to receive that large amount. Although I say that we are going to have the worst epidemic in terms of magnitude, I hope it can be reversed if we all try to improve to destroy these breeding sites, but from the Ministry of Health we are preparing to receive patients with dengue, “he added.
Rules out arrival of vaccines
Regarding vaccines against arbovirosis, Barán stated that they are analyzing the possibility of implementing them in the country, but that their arrival for this summer has already been ruled out, because “it takes its process.”
“We are analyzing the possibility of acquiring these vaccines, but this was recently approved. Argentina and Brazil have already enabled marketing, but Dinavisa, which is already an independent body, has not yet authorized or registered to sell here. We are not here this summer,” he said.
He explained that there are two doses that must be applied every three months and that only after ten days does the immune status begin to appear.
Causes of the increase in dengue
Teresa Barán recalled all the aspects that cause dengue to continue to increase in Paraguay, blaming mainly the increase in the population “in a disorderly manner” and the climate, since it is a tropical country.
He said that “the disordered growth of the population” brings with it the problem of “inadequate waste management practices,” indicating that currently only 30% of the Paraguayan population has access to a garbage collection system.
In addition, he maintained that the more inhabitants there are, the lack of water persists, causing people to collect the liquid in containers and drums, becoming another breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Read more: “Vaccine against dengue is one of the strategies, but not the only one,” says the Minister of Health
“In Capital and Central, 100% of the population does not have access to drinking water constantly or has very little pressure. So, water is collected and those are breeding grounds, they are structural problems that do not depend on Public Health, but we end up receiving the sick,” she questioned.
Among other aspects, he mentioned the situation of tires in the country, ensuring that there are more than 8 million of them throughout the national territory. “There are more tires than the entire population and this is worse in the border areas, Alto Paraná, Amambay and Encarnación, because foreigners come and buy new ones, leave the old ones and leave. We have to work on what the tire and disuse law is,” he added.
Finally, he mentioned the problem of vacant land along with the accumulation of disused materials from public entities. He assured that this occurs due to the bureaucracy of removing such materials, despite the fact that they also constitute other ways for mosquitoes to multiply.
Cases of Covid-19
The professional spoke, on the other hand, about the cases of Covid-19 that are currently increasing again in the country. She pointed out that this will continue to occur, because the coronavirus “is here to stay,” just as there are peaks of influenza every year, so the immunological protection will continue to be applied.
“Depending on the immune status, it can even be fatal, which is why the Covid vaccine will enter the regular vaccination schedule established by the Ministry of Health. “Covid is here to stay in the world,” he stated.
He also assured that the majority of coronavirus cases that have occurred lately are not serious, since patients acquired at least one dose of the vaccine and others already have up to five doses.
2023-10-16 15:41:00
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