Despite the actions of property verification, orientation sessions and nebulization, undertaken by the Department of Vector Control of the Ministry of Health in the region of Chiriquí, there is still a growing number of cases of dengue in all districts of the province.
“It is worrying because every week we continue to find more breeding sites and more positive cases of dengue and despite the campaigns carried out or the nebulizations carried out, the community still insists on not eliminating the mosquito breeding sites. We should not wait for a situation like in 1995 when there was hemorrhagic dengue to occur,” said the head of Vector Control, Patricio Camarena.
He added that, currently, the Bugaba district is the one with the most cases, since 244 have been counted, where La Concepción (77) Aserrío (34) and San Isidro (17) lead the list of districts with the highest levels of infestation.
Meanwhile, the district of Barú occupies second place with 226 cases, of which Progreso (87) Puerto Armuelles (75) and Rodolfo Aguilar (21) remain with a high rate, while the district of David is in third place with 223 cases, with Las Lomas (70) David Este (44) and David Sur (25) being the points where the situation persists.
Camarena added that there are still four months left to finish 2024, where the rains will intensify, which indicates that it could far exceed the figures of previous years. “We will have to resort to exemplary sanctions and the support of the justices of the peace, since we have insisted that citizens must cooperate and responsibly put an end to breeding sites, eliminating containers or containers that function as breeding sites, however, this request has been ignored.”
He concluded by recommending that homeowners or landowners should clean their properties daily or at least every three days, avoid all types of material that allow breeding sites to form, and follow the recommendations issued by the institution.