Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – The first case of dengue fever has been confirmed in Puerto Vallarta. The infected individual hails from El Ranchito, a local community, and Jaime Álvarez Zayas, the head of the eighth health region of the Jalisco Health Secretariat, made the announcement.
The confirmation of this case comes on the heels of the results from the Second Epidemiological Week of the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference. According to Álvarez Zayas, “The federal National Epidemiological Surveillance System, at the end of epidemiological week two, reports a confirmed case in Puerto Vallarta. This was in El Ranchito, in the community of Colexio, it is called that, that was two weeks ago.” It’s worth noting that health authorities have already conducted three sweeps in the area, led by the Epidemiology and Vectors team, in response to this alarming development.
Despite these proactive measures, Álvarez Zayas cautioned that more cases may surface in the upcoming report. He stated, “When they went to search, to work on the case, they found more febrile patients, who we sent the samples to rule out or confirm more cases, so, possibly there will be more cases there, those will be reported in week three.”
Furthermore, there is an added concern due to the region’s proximity to states such as Guerrero, Chiapas, Tabasco, Colima, and Nayarit, where 65% of dengue cases are concentrated. The influx of visitors from these states into Puerto Vallarta poses an increased risk of contagion. Álvarez Zayas emphasized, “Because we have a lot of visits from people from these places, these factors increase the risk of contagion.”
The World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization have both issued warnings regarding a significant global rise in dengue cases. These organizations stress the importance of taking extreme precautions and preventing the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector responsible for transmitting the disease. These mosquitoes are commonly found breeding in household containers, emphasizing the need for vigilance and mosquito control efforts within homes.
