Panama: Dengue fever outbreak in Colón province

Event

There is currently an abnormally large outbreak of dengue fever in Colón province. A total of 164 cases of the mosquito-borne disease, including two deaths, have been reported since the beginning of the year, as of early April. To compare, fewer than 300 cases were reported in the province in all of 2017. The worst-hit areas so far have been Cristóbal, Pilón, Sabanitas, Cativá, and Palmas Bellas.

Context

Symptoms of dengue fever include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, nausea, and rashes. Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) is a potentially deadly complication that is characterized by high fever, the enlargement of the liver, and hemorrhaging.

It should be noted that various other mosquito-borne diseases are present in Panama, including malaria (in the provinces/regions Darién, Guna Yala, Ngäbe-Buglé, and Panamá), yellow fever (in areas east of the Panama Canal, e.g. provinces/regions of Darién, Emberá, Guna Yala, Colón, and Panamá), chikungunya, and the Zika virus.

Advice

Individuals in Colón, and Panama 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.).