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A staff from the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has been in Paraguay for a number of days.
They are epidemiologists from the Division of Vector Diseases, invited by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare to assist the response to the present chikungunya epidemic within the landlocked South American nation.
The professional committee consists of the next:
- Dr. Susan Hills, an epidemiologist from the Division of Vector Diseases’ Surveillance and Epidemiology staff,
- Dr. Amy Beeson, Epidemic Intelligence Service (EISO) officer at CDC-Fort Collins,
- Dr. Roberto J. Freire Esteves, senior technical advisor from the South America Regional Office, who labored with technicians from the Directorate of Health Surveillance.
The committee will:
- Review knowledge to know the scope and scale of the epidemic and its affect on particular at-risk teams, similar to newborns.
- Share profitable classes discovered and methods for holding the illness in different nations.
- Help develop methods to reply questions on chikungunya and prevention methods.
The chikungunya virus first appeared within the Americas in 2013 and has since precipitated outbreaks in lots of nations, together with Paraguay.
CDC factors out that whereas chikungunya outbreaks have occurred in a number of nations within the area, the present epidemic is the most important ever recorded in Paraguay, making it one of many largest ever documented in South America.
“In Paraguay, we are observing a similar pattern to other chikungunya outbreaks,” the consultants clarify.
Usually, this illness causes fever and joint ache.
In uncommon instances, it will probably trigger extreme sickness, affecting the mind, coronary heart, liver, and different physique elements.
The CDC factors out that the present epidemic in Paraguay has gained worldwide prominence for a number of causes, together with its main public well being affect in neighboring Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia.
This has resulted in hundreds of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths.
Important messages from this epidemic could be unfold in Paraguay and different nations within the area.
It is essential to keep away from mosquito bites, particularly for teams at excessive danger of extreme illness, similar to newborns and younger kids, folks over 60, and other people with different circumstances.
Pregnant girls also needs to take precautions to keep away from bites, because the virus could be transmitted to their kids throughout beginning.
They stress that the easiest way to stop mosquito bites is to make use of barrier parts and eradicate breeding websites.
Experts from the United States advise:
- carrying mild clothes with lengthy sleeves and pants,
- making use of repellent and making a mosquito-free surroundings by putting steel screens on doorways and home windows,
- utilizing mosquito nets when resting or sleeping, particularly in cribs and strollers,
- eliminating breeding websites, which is important as a part of the prevention technique.
Paraguay’s local weather is right for mosquitoes that transmit chikungunya and different arboviral ailments, particularly through the wet season, when containers rapidly fill with water, which helps lay their eggs in these containers and breed much more mosquitoes.
CDC epidemiologists clarify that chikungunya epidemics are unpredictable and could be triggered by varied components, together with environmental adjustments, climate, human habits, and the extent of immunity within the inhabitants.
To restrict the affect of future epidemics, he stated it is very important eradicate breeding websites, keep strict surveillance to detect new instances and be ready to reply rapidly with management measures.
So far, in 2023, 104,775 chikungunya notifications have been registered within the nation of about 7.2 million folks, with greater than 52,000 confirmed or possible instances.
To date, greater than sixty deaths have been confirmed.
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