The Vice Minister of Health, Ivette Berrío, reiterated the call to the population to continue eliminating the breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the vector that causes dengue, which at epidemiological week No. 27, reaches 2,700 confirmed cases throughout the national territory.
“We do not have a health alert, we are following up on dengue cases, which, to date, there are more than 2,700 cases so far this year and that is currently the country’s health priority, so it is It is important to take actions in our homes and avoid having potential breeding grounds for clean water and thus prevent the proliferation of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito,” said Berrío.
Berrío stressed that, in effect, Bocas del Toro and Colón are the two regions with the most confirmed cases and currently, there is monitoring in the field with technical teams to control dengue outbreaks in the country.
Regarding the cases of influenza, the vice minister stated that the vaccination teams have continued with the process throughout the country; “This is a country with a vaccination culture and it has developed without major setbacks.”
“We do not have new cases of influenza and we do not have a health alert regarding influenza”; reiterated Berrío, who added that the call for attention that it is essential to get vaccinated, to counteract the cases.
Regarding the alert issued by the Peruvian health authorities, given the increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, Berrío emphasized that “there is no health alert in Panama due to Guillain-Barré syndrome.”
Berrío explained that the health alert issued by Peru is being followed up and the Minsa technical teams are making the corresponding evaluations of permanent surveillance, but there is no alert yet defined.
Regarding the contracting process for garbage collection and the Cerro Patacón sanitary landfill, he stressed that following the instructions of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, a special commission has been established to analyze all the measures that can be taken to contain the issue. of the trash.
“Cerro Patacón is a real problem, it is a public health issue, which we are facing directly, through consultancies, and at this time, a technical team has sat down with representatives of the Government of Austria and the Government of South Korea, to look for viable alternatives that can help Panama to solve this issue”, he reported.
“It is not easy, but work is being done on this issue, on instructions from the President of the Republic, we believe that before this government ends, a plan can be proposed to the country to contain what has been happening for decades in Cerro Patacón,” stressed.
The statements by the Vice Minister of Health were made in the framework of the signing of the Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Health (Minsa), the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida) and the National Customs Authority, for the management, administration and handling of refrigerated and frozen cargo of agri-food products in customs warehouses