Health Care, Lima, Politics

Peru Campaigns to Control Small Dengue Outbreak in Southern Lima

A small outbreak of dengue fever in parts of Lima will be controlled within two weeks, according to the Health Minister, Midori de Habich, in a statement on Wednesday.

Health officials said earlier this month that 30 cases of dengue fever in Lima’s lower-income Villa María del Triunfo district, in the southern cone of the city.

De Habich told state news agency Andina that the dengue contagions in Lima are less aggressive than other types that have caused deaths in Peru’s jungle. De Habich said that those infected “are stable, we don’t have a serious case at the moment.”

“The effort is more to eliminate the mosquitoes, in fumigating, in preventive actions,” De Habich said.

Health workers have been canvassing the whole southern end of Lima, both poorer and upper income areas of Surco,  Barranco, Chorrillos and Villa, as well as the districts that have spread along the sanddunes and into the damp hillsides to Pachacamac and Lurin,  distributing leaflets and providing advice directly to residents on home health practices.

The National Institute of Health says that dengue has spread in Lima in part due to climate changes, and aided by the presence of puddles or pools of still water that have facilitated the reproduction of mosquitoes.

Last year, at least 11 people died of dengue in Peru’s jungle region of Ucayali. Health officials declared more than 3,000 cases in the region, resulting in a 60-day emergency.

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