Peru: State of emergency in northwest due to mosquito-borne diseases

Event

The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency on Thursday, August 17, for six northwestern regions due abnormally high transmission rates of mosquito-borne diseases including chikungunya, dengue fever, and the Zika virus. In July, the number of new cases of the diseases reported in the Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Áncash, and Ica regions were more than 80 percent higher on average when compared with rates from July 2016. Local health officials in these regions will carry out campaigns to reduce populations of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, potential carriers of all three diseases.

Context

These rates have been attributed to abnormally high amounts of rainfall caused by the El Niño climatic phenomenon, as pockets of stagnant water provide fertile breeding grounds for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

Symptoms of dengue fever include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, nausea, and rash. Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is a potentially deadly complication that is characterized by high fever, the enlargement of the liver and hemorrhaging. Be aware that aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen) should be avoided as they may worsen bleeding issues associated with the disease; patients may be given acetaminophen (paracetamol).

Symptoms of chikungunya include high fever, joint and muscle pain, rash, headache, nausea, and fatigue. The virus is rarely fatal but lingering joint pain can last for several weeks, even months, after the initial recovery.

Symptoms of the Zika virus - which can appear two to seven days following contraction of the disease but are only observed in approximately 20 percent of cases - include fever, headache (behind the eyes), conjunctivitis, rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pain. The disease is also transmittable via sexual intercourse. While the virus is usually relatively benign, links between the Zika virus and severe birth defects as well as the potentially fatal neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), have been established.

Advice

Individuals in the above regions, and Peru more generally, are advised to take measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites - e.g. by wearing covering clothing, using insect repellent, and sleeping under mosquito-netting or in an air conditioned room - and to eliminate possible mosquito breeding grounds (small pockets of fresh water, such as rain water that has collected in cans, bottles, tires, flower pots, clogged gutters, etc.).