In Brief: Cape Verde responds to first-ever dengue epidemic

Photo: WHO

The 'Aedes aegypti' mosquito which is the carrier of dengue fever

DAKAR, 4 November 2009 (IRIN) - Dengue fever continues to spread in Cape Verde, with 748 new suspected cases announced by the government on 4 November bringing the total to 6,707. Health officials say at least three people have died in the country’s first-ever epidemic of the mosquito-borne illness.

Dengue was first reported in early October in the archipelago of some 432,000 inhabitants, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

An inter-ministerial committee headed by the Prime Minister is working to contain the spread of the disease, educating communities on prevention and taking measures to control mosquitoes.

The Health Ministry “calls on the population and health institutions to increase efforts to eliminate breeding grounds”, according to a statement on a government website.

Dengue fever is a sudden onset illness with symptoms similar to those of malaria – headache, fever, exhaustion and severe joint and muscle pain. Global incidence of dengue has increased dramatically in recent decades, with about two-fifths of the world’s population now at risk, according to WHO.

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