The Minister of Health of the City, Fernán Quirós, spoke about the dengue vaccine at a time when the population's
concern
about this disease is growing.
He also made a reference to the residents' demand for more
fumigation
in public spaces.
For the minister, this tool (fumigation) to combat dengue does not work "because the 'pet mosquito' is in the houses," in reference to
Aedes aegypti
.
He stated this before a group of journalists from different media, and called on people to ensure that
breeding sites do not form
in their homes.
When alluding to the possibility of the Buenos Aires Government incorporating the new dengue vaccine into the vaccination schedule, he tied that decision to the National Immunization Commission (CoNain)
giving it approval
.
That organization decided to wait about eight months to find out on the ground the
effectiveness of the vaccine
.
This period would be key to then
make a recommendation
on who to eventually apply the vaccine to: whether to populations in certain provinces or to people who can be confirmed that they
have already had dengue
at least once.
That protocol is uncertain for now.
Sources from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health explained to
Clarín
that both issues (fumigation and vaccine) have become
a demand
, especially in the field of social networks and that is why the ministry seeks to clarify to the population some issues that may cause confusion.
Specimens of the Aedes aegypti species, which transmits dengue.
These complaints, apparently, grew from the
invasion of mosquitoes
after the abundant rains this summer.
But this situation led to a
misunderstanding
: the mosquitoes in question are not of the
Aedes aegypti
species , which transmits dengue, but of another species commonly known as the "flood mosquito", whose technical name is
Aedes albifasciatus
.
According to the City's criteria, it is not a satisfactory health tool to combat these mosquitoes with fumigation.
However, they focus on what they call
“focus fumigations”
, which consist of carrying out home interventions when a case of dengue is detected.
They reported that so far this season they have already made
1,100
.
Regarding the vaccine, until now only some provincial states decided to apply it for free in some towns of
Salta and Misiones
, where dengue is endemic.
The City believes that the discussion about whether or not the vaccine will finally be incorporated will take place towards the middle of the year, with effects for the next 2024-25 season.
The current dengue season is, to date,
the worst in history
if we take into account the number of cases there were last year at this time and the number recorded this year.
It should be remembered that until week 32 of 2023 (when the last season ended) just over
120 thousand cases
were registered .
According to data from the National Epidemiological Bulletin (BEN) published last Saturday, so far this season there have been
57,210 registered cases
, against
1,517
in 2023. So far, 38 people have died and throughout last season, 65.
A few days ago, the Buenos Aires Minister of Health, Nicolás Kreplak, confirmed that the current dengue epidemic is “the largest in the history of the country.”
And in the last hours he put it into figures from his district: “Last year there were
40 cases
at this time of year and now there are
7,880
.”
Meanwhile, in the City, according to the district's latest Epidemiological Bulletin, there are
1,811 confirmed cases and 334 probable cases
.
This season, 92 people required hospitalization in the City, while four received intensive care.
And
55 people still remain hospitalized
.
So far no deaths from dengue have been recorded.
The new dengue vaccine, Qdenga, from the Takeda laboratory, is applied in
two doses
mediated over a minimum period of three months.
Each dose costs a little more than 71 thousand pesos, although there are already around twenty
agreements with social and prepaid works
so that the interested party can purchase the medication at a discount.
P.S.