In Portuguese Madeira, the number of cases of mosquito-borne dengue is increasing. Until Friday, this acute infectious disease was diagnosed in 14 people. A spokesman for the local government said more than a dozen people with symptoms of the infection are under medical surveillance.
On Thursday, information about the appearance of this potentially deadly disease on the island led to the depletion of repellants in local pharmacies in just a dozen hours. According to the authorities of the Madeira Pharmacy Association (ANFM), the increase in purchases of mosquito repellants was directly related to confirmed cases of dengue fever.
Since Thursday evening, the authorities of the autonomous government of Madeira have been carrying out a campaign of informing about the dangers of dengue fever and about prevention. Special messages about the disease were also sent to diplomatic missions and travel agencies on Friday.
Portuguese biologists believe that although the population of mosquitoes transmitting the dengue virus has increased significantly in Madeira in recent days, there is no concern for the time being of an outbreak on the island or the spread of the virus to continental Europe.
“We have already managed to locate the main outbreaks of this disease. Dengue-spreading mosquitoes live on the outskirts of the island. We are constantly controlling the area where these insects have appeared, ”reported Paulo Almeida from the Portuguese Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dengue fever is a viral disease which, due to the lack of effective drugs, can lead to death. The disease is accompanied by high fever, hemorrhages, severe headaches, pain in the joints and eyeballs, as well as a rash. The virus, found mainly in tropical countries, is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
From Lisbon, Marcin Zatyka (PAP)
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