QCOSTARICA — A total of 15,495 accumulated cases of dengue were reported in epidemiological week number 40, this Friday by the Ministry of Health, places Costa Rica as the fourth country with the highest incidence of positive diagnoses in Central America.
Costa Rica is below Nicaragua, Guatemala (with the highest mortality rate from dengue) and Honduras, while Panama, El Salvador and Belize are the nations that report the fewest cases.
Of the locations with the highest incidence of dengue in Costa Rica, the Huetar Caribe region continues to lead the list with a total of 4,849 accumulated cases, followed by the Central North and the Central Pacific.
Dengue ranking in Central America:
- Nicaragua, 103,002
- Guatemala, 37,584
- Honduras, 16,010
- Costa Rica, 15,495
- Panama, 10,991
- El Salvador, 4,471
- Belize, 4,450
Source: Health Information Platform of the Americas, Pan American Health Organization, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection. The infection causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world’s population is now at risk.
What happens when a person has dengue? Most people who get dengue won’t have symptoms. But for those that do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash. Most will also get better in 1–2 weeks. Some people develop severe dengue and need hospital care.
Dengue fever is not contagious, so it can’t spread directly from person to person. When a mosquito bites a person who has dengue fever, the mosquito becomes infected with the virus that causes the disease. It can then spread the virus to other people by biting them.
