The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in parts of the country on Monday due to a major resurgence of dengue fever. Nearly 25,000 infections have already been diagnosed this year.
“There is an immediate risk to public health,” said Cesar Vasquez, Peru’s health minister. The number of dengue fever cases has increased by 95 percent compared to the same period last year.
This year, according to official figures, 28 people in the South American country have already died from the virus. There were four hundred in all of 2023.
The outbreak comes at the same time as a heat wave and heavy rain in Peru. These are favorable conditions for mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus. This virus causes a high fever that is accompanied by chills, headache, vomiting and nausea.
Dengue fever mainly occurs in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. An estimated 90 million people worldwide are infected with the dengue virus every year. Of these, 500,000 are serious cases.
2024-02-26 18:49:25
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