Death toll in Nicaragua’s dengue epidemic reaches 16

MANAGUA, November 4, 2013 (AFP) – A dengue epidemic sweeping Nicaragua has claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy, raising the disease’s death toll there to 16 people, according to officials.

The death is the second in less than 24 hours due to dengue, health authorities reported. The disease has infected some 5,795 people in Nicaragua this year.

The boy was from Matagalpa, located 127 kilometers (79 miles) north of Managua, said presidential spokeswoman and first lady Rosario Murillo.

A total of 1,128 people have been hospitalized suspected of having dengue, with 43 of the instances confirmed by laboratories and 36 serious cases, according to official reports.

Murillo also announced the arrival of specialists from Cuba to assess whether a product, which she did not identify but that has been used in other countries, could be used in Nicaragua.

She also said she regretted that campaigns to eliminate mosquitos in combination with modern science and technology hadn’t made a bigger dent in fighting the disease or ending suffering.

Dengue results in fever, muscle and joint ache.

The disease is caused by four strains of virus that are spread by the mosquito Aedes aegypti.

There is no vaccine, so medical authorities in the region, where poverty is widespread, have been trying to stamp it out by focusing on mosquito control.

The illness can be fatal, developing into hemorrhagic fever, which can lead to shock and internal bleeding.