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 Health & Beauty | March 2007 
Mexico Dengue Goes Deadly
 Prensa Latina
Mexico - One out of every four dengue cases in Mexico is hemorrhagic, the most dangerous and deadly form, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordoba asserted.
The fight against dengue is one of the main health programs today, said Cordoba, who called for all social sectors to participate actively in its elimination.
He recalled that there was one case of hemorrhagic dengue in Mexico per every 50 cases of classical dengue seven years ago, but there is one per every four cases now, hence the urgent need to adopt the necessary measures, he explained.
According to an epidemiological general view by the Mexican Health Secretary s Office, there were 4,477 hemorrhagic-dengue cases, which caused 20 deaths.
The official said the most effective way to control the epidemic is to constantly destroy deposits of the virus transmitting agent, the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
Cordoba visited Quintana Roo state, some 746 miles west of this capital, and called to intensify preventive actions and continue the joint programs among the municipal, state, and federal government levels.
Paraguay Declares Emergency Following Wave of Dengue Fever Cases
Pedro Servin - Associated Press
Asuncion, Paraguay - Paraguay has declared a state of emergency following a wave of dengue fever cases as concerns over the mosquito-borne illness rise across Latin America.
Paraguayan health officials have reported some 14,000 cases of the disease this year, with four deaths.
President Nicanor Duarte said he was allotting funds to fumigate breeding areas for the disease-spreading aedes aegypti mosquito, and signed a decree this week declaring a 60-day emergency.
Authorities have reported four deaths from 40 cases of the more severe hemorrhagic form of dengue, which causes a sudden fever, rash, easy bruising, aches, weakness, restlessness and possible bleeding of the gums and internal bleeding.
They say the rest of the cases are classic dengue -- sometimes known as bonebreak fever -- which often includes symptoms such as high fever, intense headaches, and joint and muscle pain.
Health Minister Oscar Martinez said officials were sending blood samples to the United States and Argentina to determine what types of dengue are involved in the outbreak.
Concerns about the illness are also rising across Latin America.
In Peru, officials said two people died last month from dengue and some 398 cases have been reported.
In Brazil, preliminary data shows 53,146 dengue cases have been registered this year after about 300,000 last year.
Mexico reported 22,810 dengue cases in 2006, up from 17,487 in 2005.
Opposition lawmakers accused the government of drastically underestimating the outbreak.
"The statistics that are being given out should be multiplied tenfold," opposition spokesman Anibal Carrillo said Thursday, adding he believes more than 130,000 cases have gone unreported because many poor Paraguayans cannot afford doctors' fees.
The opposition has called for Martinez to resign, saying he failed to take measures to prevent the outbreak. Martinez did not comment on that.
The epidemic has infected 13 players and a first-division coach in the Paraguayan soccer league who are believed to be at risk because they train outdoors, where it is harder to block mosquitoes.
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