Nicaragua keeps dengue warning to prevent resurgence

Nicaragua's health minteisr said Sunday that the government has decided to keep an existing dengue warning in place to prevent a possible resurgence. President Daniel Ortega has called on health officials "not to let down their guard" due to recent heavy rains, Sonia Castro said in comments quoted in the online edition of the El 19 newspaper. Since mosquitoes breed in standing water, the rainfall could lead to a new resurgence of the disease. An earlier outbreak killed at least five people and prompted the government to issue a warning. "So far, the Health Ministry has made more than one million house-to-house visits to prevent the propagation of the mosquito that transmits the disease," said Castro. "We have contained the seriousness and the deaths, but we continue to see cases of infection," added the minister. According to the latest reports, the regions worst hit by dengue include Managua and the western province of Leon, followed by the northern provinces of Matagalpa, Jinotega and Esteli. During the first half of 2013, the ministry reported 1,400 suspected cases of dengue, nearly double the 777 cases reported in the same period last year. Comparing Nicaragua to its Central American neighbors, Castro said El Salvador has reported double the number of dengue cases, while Costa Rica has registered four times as many. In parallel with the dengue prevention efforts, health authorities are also working to minimize the incidence of other rainy-season ailments, such as influenza and leptospirosis.