Dengue Outbreak Declares Health Emergency In Puerto Rico

(CTN News) – It is reported that Puerto Rico has declared a public health emergency due to dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that has spread throughout the Americas over the past few months.

It has been reported that health officials in Puerto Rico have detected 549 cases on their US territory of 3.2 million people, with almost half of these cases being concentrated in San Juan, the capital of the island.

“Dengue fever,” or as it is more commonly called, “breakbone fever,” is a very contagious disease that can cause headaches, soreness, fever, rashes, and, in extreme cases, even cause death.

In a statement issued by the Health Department on Wednesday, Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said that dengue cases have surpassed historical records this year.

There is no immediate impact on travel to or from Puerto Rico, a popular holiday destination, as a result of the emergency declaration, but the health department will now be able to access funding for detection and prevention that was not previously available, Mellado said.

This year, there have been major outbreaks of dengue in many parts of the Americas, including Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Peru, with large swaths of the continent experiencing the disease on a regular basis.

It is widely known that mosquitoes have been the cause of dengue fever which has been causing health problems in parts of Florida over the course of the last year.

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