Woodpulp…Columbia

COLUMBIA

COLUMBIA (BOLIVAR) | EDITED BY PROMEDMAIL.ORG, THU 12 AUG  2010

FOLLOWING THE CONFIRMATION OF 485 CASES OF CLASSIC DENGUE AND 24 CASES OF DHF IN BOLIVAR DEPARTMENT [STATE OR PROVINCE EQUIVALENT], AUTHORITIES LAUNCHED AN ALERT FOR CITIZENS TO CONTROL THE EPIDEMIC OF THE DISEASE [DENGUE] THAT HAS GREATLY INCREASED IN 2010.

ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF CASES OF DENGUE FEVER IN BOLIVAR COULD INCREASE IF THE AT LEAST 200 SUSPECT CASES THAT ARE BEING ANALYSED ARE CONFIRMED, DEPARTMENTAL HEALTH OFFICIALS REMAIN PRUDENT. [CAMPAIGNS] HAVE INCREASED IN THE MUNICIPALITIES WHERE THE DISEASE HAS INCREASED RAPIDLY.

ACCORDING TO MARTHA LUCIA HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ, THE PROJECT LEADER OF VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES FOR THE DEPARTMENTAL SECRETARIAT OF HEALTH, DENGUE IS A CYCLICAL DISEASE AND IT IS AFFECTED BY THE WEATHER. FOR THAT REASON, SHE SAID, IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR RAVAGES OF WINTER, FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES, INCREASED RAINFALL BRINGS OTHER DANGERS, INCLUDING THE PROLIFERATION OF THE MOSQUITO THAT TRANSMITS DENGUE, WHICH IS A MAJOR HEALTH RISK.

DENGUE FEVER SPIKES IN COLUMBIA BYBRETT BORKAN,FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2010

THE INCIDENCE OF DENGUE FEVER IN COLOMBIA ROSE BY 15%…WITH A TOTAL OF 90,000 CASES AND 99 DEATHS FROM THE DISEASE SO FAR THIS YEAR, EL COLOMBIANO REPORTED FRIDAY.

ACCORDING TO COLOMBIA’S NATIONAL HEALTH INSTITUTE (INS), 90,360 CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED THUS FAR IN 2010, A JUMP FROM THE 78,000 AND 93 DEATHS…

ACCORDING TO THE INS, THE MOST HEAVILY AFFECTED AREAS OF THE COUNTRY INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENT OF VALLE DEL CAUCA IN SOUTH-EASTERN COLOMBIA, WHICH REPORTED 24 DEATHS, SANTANDER IN THE NORTHEAST, WHICH REPORTED ELEVEN DEATHS, AND THE CENTRAL DEPARTMENTS OF META AND TOLINA, EACH REGISTERING TEN DEATHS.

THE INS ALSO NOTED AN INCREASE OF REPORTED CASES IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF ARAUCA, ANTIOQUIA, CUNDINAMARCA, HUILA, AND BOLÍVAR, AND URGED LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO “STRENGTHEN THEIR INTERDISCIPLINARY STRATEGIES FOR EXECUTING CONTINGENCY PLANS.”

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT AND THE PAN-AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAVE ALLOCATED COP800MILLION TO COORDINATE RESPONSE EFFORTS TO THE DISEASE.

IN 2009, COLOMBIA WITNESSED 71,000 RECORDED CASES OF DENGUE FEVER AND 44 FATALITIES.

THE INCREASED AMOUNT OF DENGUE CASES AND DEATHS HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO A RISE IN TEMPERATURES IN THE COUNTRY…

Government reports decline in dengue fever by Pandora Pugsley, June 25, 2010

Government figures released on Thursday (June 24) show a decline in the number of weekly reported cases of dengue fever in the majority of Colombia’s departments.

According to the country’s Health Ministry, there has been an important decline in the number of reported cases of dengue fever in 18 of the country’s 32 departments.  Departments such as Boyaca, Vaupes, La Guajira and Putamayo saw a drop in the average number of weekly reported cases from 5,000 to 3,000, representing a 60% reduction.

The Ministry has also reported that the lethality rate of the disease has remained at 1.4%, significantly lower than the expected 2.5%, according to estimates by the World Health Organization, (WHO).

The report comes a week after the Colombia’s National Health Institute (INS) urged the government to “strengthen their interdisciplinary strategies for executing contingency plans” in tackling the disease, after it emerged that the total number of reported cases this year had reached 90,000.

The government attributes the swift decline to the effectiveness of newly implemented contingency plans, which include a strict adherence to guidelines and protocols for case management by local authorities, EPS and IPS.

According to the government report, there is still an increase in reported cases in departments like Choco, Antioquia, Sucre and Bolivar.   This allegedly is due to a late onset of the epidemic.

Bogota urges departments with an increase in dengue fever to step up their efforts.   Juan Gonzalo Lopez, director of the National Institute of Health urged Colombian citizens living in these departments “not to lower their guard” but instead intensify their efforts to control and contain the disease[...]