Authorities confirm outbreak of dengue outbreak in Belize

Health authorities today confirmed an outbreak of the deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever in the Cayo district in Western Belize, on the western border with Guatemala, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



The Ministry of Health said 114 cases had been confirmed during the period July 4 -14 and that the Central Medical Laboratory in Belize City had confirmed 45 new cases in addition to \"a number of specimens await confirmation\".



Deputy Director of Health Services Marjorie Parks said \"it is expected that there will be sudden occurrences (of dengue fever) on an annual basis\" but there were no fatalities.



\"A slight increase in the number of cases is expected because the neighbouring town of Melchor de Mencos, in Guatemala is considered a hotspot for the disease.\"



Parks said that the Ministry of Health has already begun an awareness campaign and is urging residents to adopt proper health practices as well as destroy the breeding grounds for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is the vector responsible for the spread of the virus.



Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands and rash.



While the virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person, dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal, complication of dengue fever.