In Madeira, nearly 1400 cases of dengue infection have been recorded since October. Among those hospitalized for this acute infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes, there are islanders as well as foreign tourists.
As a representative of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm announced on Wednesday, the continued spread of the virus could contribute to serious threats to public health.
“Dengue is spreading in Madeira is not to be taken lightly. This is the first such serious epidemic on the European continent since 1920. We do not rule out that its occurrence may increase in the coming weeks, ‘predict experts from Stockholm, who have been on the Portuguese island since mid-October.
In turn, according to the authorities of the Health Authority in Lisbon, the situation on the island is under control, and teams of biologists and sanitary inspectors have already located the main habitats of mosquitoes that spread the disease. They admit that the insect population increased in late October and early November due to heavy rainfall in Madeira.
In November this year. 17 cases of dengue have been reported in people who returned to their home countries from Madeira. Seven are from Germany, six from Great Britain, two from France, and one each from Finland and Sweden.
“We are in close contact with other hospitals in Europe where people with dengue are present in Madeira. We also recorded eight cases in mainland Portugal, ”said Francisco George, director of the Portuguese Health Authority.
Madeira’s sanitary and epidemiological authorities admit that they are not yet able to determine the exact number of people infected with dengue on the island, as they are waiting for the results of more than 500 patients with symptoms of the disease.
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)
zat/ jhp/ ro/