Deaths caused by the dengue mosquito have risen in Honduras, according to El Nuevo Herald on Wednesday. Officials reported the death of four people.
Miriam Paz, the Vice Minister of Health said, "The rise in cases is taking place despite state efforts to destroy the hatcheries of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito in the middle of rain season." El Nuevo Herald also reported that so far in the summer of 2013, the deaths of 21 people have been recorded during the rain season, which starts in May and ends in November across Honduras.
The article points out that in 2012, roughly 8,000 cases of dengue and two deaths were registered, in contrast with 2011, when no cases were registered. Paz said that during 2013, there have been close to 22,442 cases of classic dengue, while 2,938 cases of hemorrhagic dengue have been reported.
In Honduras, close to 152 out of 298 municipalities have been affected, which amounts to 52 percent of the country's entire territory. The most affected cities are: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, Juticalpa and Choluteca.
According to El Nuevo Herald, Salvador Pineda, Minister of Health, said that the rise in dengue cases is due to "the indifference of the population to clean their houses and listen to government recommendations." Suyapa López, chief of the National Dengue Program of the Health Ministry, explained that the dengue mosquito has become resistant, which is why it's being fought with a new chemical called "BTI H-14".
El Nuevo Herald's reported that the World Health Organization has been using this chemical since 1984 with the purpose of eliminating mosquito larvae, and since it contains a high degree of specificity, it provides environmental safety and is compatible with other control chemicals.
Honduran authorities have a $4.3 million fund to fight dengue and carry out fumigations with insecticide, house by house, in the zones with the most reported cases of dengue.
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