Belize Records No Deaths, Lower Dengue Cases than Predicted

As of the end of EpiWeek 50 last week, we’ve seen a total of one thousand, one hundred and sixty-six cases of dengue up to Saturday. Remarkably, there have been no deaths this year, which is a complete turnaround from the high dengue incidences we started with. National Surveillance Officer at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Myra Fernandez, told News Five that the success in this fight was due to effective interventions.

 

Myra Fernandez, National Surveillance Officer, MOHW

“We have only seen five cases of severe dengue; forty-three percent of those cases were really cases with no warning signs. We’re seeing that the Toledo, Stann Creek, and Cayo District recorded the highest numbers this far for 2024  with a total of 420 cases for Toledo, 341 for Stann Creek and 208 for the Cayo District.  I would say that there is a really good program in place in terms of elimination of these mosquito breeding sites. There is also the chemical controller. We all know the ULV spraying that happens and other interventions that happens around each case that is investigated. Apart from that, there is a really good public health education campaign that happens along with the program. And then there is, of course, that community engagements that happen at the community level. So I would say that the response is very quick in terms of what is being done for dengue. So it’s a permanent program that the ministry has in place and we have the services available really countrywide.  And that would probably add to why we did not see the numbers that we expected post Tropical Storm Sara.”