| | |  Health & Beauty 
Cordova: Dengue Fever Could Hit Mexico City
 The News
go to original
January 29, 2010
Mexico City - José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, the Federal Health Secretary, reported that dengue fever could spread in Mexico City because the mosquito has already adapted to the elevation of large cities as consequence of climate change.
“We would not be surprised if there are cases of dengue reported in Mexico City this year because mosquitoes have already gotten used to different conditions and they have become immune to insecticides and are harder to kill,” he stated.
Dengue affects children and elderly most frequently. People infected with dengue exhibit the following symptoms: fever, headaches, joint or muscle pain and experience fluid loss and alterations in blood coagulation.
Secretary Córdova said that climate change has encouraged the proliferation of mosquitoes, as a consequence, there are now cases of dengue in cities that had never reported cases before.
According to a report by Secretary Córdova, in 2009 a few cases of dengue were reported in Mexico State. As consequence of climate change, the temperature in Mexico City is getting closer to tropical, which could result in the proliferation of the mosquito.
“The mosquito already exists in cities that have an elevation of 1,800 or 1,900 meters above sea level. It can continue to adapt to the changing temperatures and exist this city. If that happens, we will be in big trouble,” he said.
At the end of 2009, the Federal Health Secretariat said that the spread of dengue overcame the cordon sanitaire established by the government in 9 states, most of them on the Pacific Ocean. States like Nayarit or San Luis Potosí reported between 4,000 and 2,000 cases of dengue, which is a significant increase compared to the number of reported cases in 2008.
The Information System for Epidemic Surveillance reported that Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero and Chiapas are among the states that suffer the largest number of dengue cases in the country.
Separately, Mexico City's Health Under-Secretary, Ignacio Villaseñor, discarded the notion of the existence of dengue in the city and said that he is not sure whether climate change would favor the acclimatization of the mosquito. The Under-Secretary stated that there have always been dengue cases in the city because of people who were bitten in other states.
He also said that last year, between 8 and 10 cases were reported by people who had traveled to states where the mosquito proliferates. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us