Costa Rica: Low rates of mosquito-borne diseases in 2018 /update 1

Event

According to figures released by the Costa Rican government on March 20, rates of mosquito-borne diseases have been low in recent months throughout the country. There were only five confirmed cases of the Zika virus registered in the first nine weeks of the year (period ending March 4), with no new cases reported in weeks eight or nine. During the same nine-week period, 318 cases of dengue fever and 15 cases of chikungunya were also reported.

A nationwide campaign to reduce populations of all of the Aedes aegypti mosquito - a carrier of all diseases - continues. No locally acquired cases of malaria, transmitted by a different type of mosquito, have been reported since the beginning of the year.

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.

Symptoms of chikungunya include fever, headache, joint and muscle ache, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and rashes. The virus is infrequently fatal but potentially debilitating joint pain can last for weeks, even months, after the initial recovery.

Symptoms of Zika - fever, headache (behind the eyes), conjunctivitis, rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pain - can appear two to seven days following contraction of the disease, although the virus is asymptomatic in approximately 80 percent of cases. Transmission of the virus is also possible via sexual intercourse. Although the Zika virus is usually relatively benign, links between it and severe birth defects as well as the potentially fatal neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) have been established.

Advice

Individuals present in Costa Rica - in particular pregnant women and their partners - are advised to take measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites (e.g. by wearing covering clothing, using insect repellent, and sleeping in screened-in or air conditioned rooms) 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.).