MinSalud delivers recommendations to prevent dengue, zika and chikungunya at Easter

With the arrival of Holy Week, the Ministry of Health and Protection delivered a series of recommendations to prevent dengue, zika and chikungunya. The entity noted that these diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes and that due to the geographical and eco-epidemiological characteristics of Colombia, the presence of these insects is more common.

The Deputy Director (e) of Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Iván Cárdenas, explained how these viruses can be infected. “The transmission of dengue, chikungunya and Zika occurs when the Aedes aegypti mosquito infected with one of these viruses feeds on the blood of a healthy person and thus transmits any of these diseases to them.”

The official also stated that mosquitoes breed near where they get food. “In the specific case of the female of Aedes aegypti, they prefer human blood and after feeding they look for places with shade and clear or clean stagnant waters such as pools, vases, pots, containers forgotten in yards, among others, and there she lays her eggs on the walls of these containers.”

Recommendations for preventing disease

Considering that at Easter, Colombians will travel to different destinations, many of them are endemic municipalities; hence the importance of preventing dengue, chikungunya and Zika. These are the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Health:

- Do not leave water standing in pots after spraying the plants.

- Keep the containers in which they store water completely covered.

- If they have water in pools, pots or other large containers, wash them and brush their walls every 8 days. If possible, keep them covered.

- If they use vases, wash them and change their water at least every 6 days or put drops of chlorine on them.

- Keep the yard free of objects that can store water, proper disposal of tires, scrap metal, cleaning rainwater channels, puddles, clean water tanks, covers, and others.

- Collect garbage and solid waste in vacant plots and lots, and keep the yard clean.

- Eliminate all mosquito breeding sites inside and outside your home, such as pots, vases, and others.

- Participate in community days of collection of useless items with participation promoted by local authorities.

The Ministry also indicated measures to prevent mosquito bites: wear clothing that covers as much skin area as possible; apply repellents to exposed skin, following its instructions for use; use mosquito nets or awnings to protect children, the elderly and sick, or any other person resting during the day; and put in the house annexes and cloths to cover walls and doors and any area where the insect may enter.

If you have been infected with dengue, zika or chikungunya, these would be the care you should take: do not self-medicate; drink plenty of fluids and go immediately to health institutions for care. In such a case of being diagnosed, it must be kept isolated and remain with a canopy. This same measure should be extended to people who are in their homes and who have the virus.

Behavior of arboviruses

According to the latest epidemiological bulletin of the National Institute of Health (INS), with a cut-off as of March 26, 2022, there were 20 cases of chikungunya in nine territorial directorates of the country, 60 cases of Zika in 18 territorial directorates and 11,967 cases of dengue in 37 territorial directorates.

In the case of dengue, there is distribution in 583 municipalities, most often in Barranquilla (1,143 cases), Cali (803 cases), Cartagena (590 cases), Yopal (515 cases), Cucuta (479 cases), Soledad (379 cases) and Riohacha (342).

“These three diseases show a behavior within expectations, however; there is a situation of dengue outbreak in: Amazonas, Atlántico, Barranquilla, Bolivar, Cartagena, Casanare, La Guajira, San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina and Norte de Santander,” commented the Ministry of Health.

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