Section General Public Health (SGPH) is appealing to residents to be vigilant and eradicate mosquito breeding places.
At least six people have died from dengue fever in Puerto Rico, including two children under the age of 10. Authorities have reported under 5,000 cases including 21 cases of the potentially fatal hemorrhagic dengue. Puerto Rico’s health department has declared a dengue epidemic.
Measures need to be taken in and around homes and businesses to reduce breeding of the Ades Aegypti mosquito which has the potential to transmit dengue and chikungunya fever.
Taking measures to fight dengue is also part of the Minister of Public Health’s ‘Get Checked’ campaign, and residents should check their surroundings carefully for possible breeding places.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults. Chikungunya (CHIK) fever is an emerging, mosquito-borne disease caused by an alphavirus, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV).
Although indigenous transmission of CHIKV does not occur in the Americas now, the risk for its introduction into local vector mosquito populations is likely higher than had previously been thought, especially in tropical and subtropical areas where Ae. Aegypti, of the main vectors of CHIKV, has a broad distribution.
Clear stagnant water in old tires and other types of debris in yards can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes bringing about an increased risk of mosquito-borne diseases.
SGPH is therefore advising residents to take immediate measures after rain events to make sure there is no clear/clean stagnant water in their yards; disposing of responsibly old tires, empty drums, plant containers, paint cans and other items that can collect water around their homes and businesses.
An increase in the mosquito population puts residents at risk. In the case of where containers are used for storing water, residents should keep these covered. Inlets and outlets of cisterns must be covered with a mosquito net or cloth to prevent mosquito breeding.