The latest national data on the dengue epidemic
was released this Saturday
and the forecasts are fulfilled.
So far this season,
79 deaths
from the disease have already been recorded, which means an
absolute historical record
and four months before the record of 2023 was registered, when just in the middle of the year the deaths totaled
65
.
In the last period surveyed, contained in the National Epidemiological Bulletin (BEN) of week 10,
22 new deaths
were added .
That is, more than three deaths per day.
It is the week in which there were
the most deceased cases
.
The provinces with the most deaths are Buenos Aires (17), Misiones (14) and Chaco (13).
The first four deaths from dengue in the City of Buenos Aires
were also reported
.
The rest is distributed between Corrientes (8), Córdoba (7), Formosa (5), Santa Fe (5), Santiago del Estero (2), Tucumán (1), San Luis (1), Salta (1) and Entre Rivers (1).
As for cases, in week 10,
24,302 infections were added
to reach a total of
120,007
, bringing the figure to the brink of exceeding last year's record of
130,000
, which, as
Clarín
announced, will surely be reflected in the BEN of week 11.
A striking fact from the brand new report is the
unprecedented expansion of dengue to the south
of the country, with 148 cases registered in Santa Cruz and 115 in Tierra del Fuego.
The Argentine province with the most infections is Buenos Aires (22,960) followed by Chaco (21,919), Santa Fe (17,310) and Formosa (14,382).
In the City of Buenos Aires there are 4,406.
A specimen of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, transmitter of the dengue virus.
Photo: AP
Another disease grows like never before
While the acceleration of the dengue curve is a certainty, other information that emerges from official data and raises an alert is the worrying growth of a disease that was
already reported during the course of last year but now
the data
has been reported.
consolidated 2023
.
This is
Streptococcus pyogenes
, which is the most common bacterial cause of acute pharyngitis.
It commonly causes different skin infections such as impetigo, cellulitis and scarlet fever.
But sometimes it can present as a
serious form or invasive disease
, which is responsible for 500,000 deaths annually in the world.
The bacteria is transmitted by the
respiratory route
through droplets of saliva expelled when carriers cough, sneeze or talk.
It can also occur through direct contact with people who have wounds infected by the bacteria.
According to the latest figures reported in mid-December 2023 and reported by
Clarín
, at that time a total of 732 cases of invasive disease due to this streptococcus and 103 deaths were recorded.
At the end of the year, the final statistics showed a new jump, reaching
926 cases and 234 deaths
.
New data for 2024 is not yet known, but the strong increase since 2022 (when there had been only 92 cases and 15 deaths),
opens a question mark
for what may happen in 2024.
The largest number of deaths occurred in the age group from
0 to 9 years
, with 31 deaths (it also includes the largest number of cases, with 346), followed by the group from 60 to 69 years, with 20 deaths.
The
Central region
of the country has accounted for the majority of this disease (570), followed by Cuyo (156) and the South (122).
The most frequent
clinical symptoms
in confirmed cases were sepsis (61%), cellulitis (188), septic shock (36%), streptococcal toxic shock (27%), cellulitis (15%), necrotizing fasciitis (15%), pneumonia ( 14%) and meningitis (3%).
The largest number of
susceptible patients
are those who have had a history of other skin injuries, trauma, and surgery.
The
most common symptoms
of this disease are fever, severe headache, vomiting, convulsions, neck stiffness, drowsiness and weakness.
While the most common comorbidities were diabetes, heart disease and immunocompromised.
A ruling adds suspense to the DNU
This week's health scenario is completed with news that is
closely related
both to the treatment of the diseases previously mentioned and to many others, linked to what
format the sale of medicines will end up having
in Argentina, based on the controversial DNU 70 that was rejected by the Senate on Thursday but
remains in force
because it has yet to be discussed by Deputies.
The
Health chapter of the DNU
has several articles dedicated to the proposed changes to the
operation of pharmacies
, modifications that require the accession of the provinces to come into effect.
Before that happened, a
court ruling
was announced that added suspense to the decree.
Among other things, the chapters of the DNU in question introduce the possibility that
a single pharmacist
can be in charge of different pharmacies, that
drugstores
can dispense oncological medications to the public, that
painkillers and antacids
can be sold in commercial premises that are not pharmacies and that in pharmacies there may be
opticians and doctors' offices
.
The pharmacists presented an injunction at the national level but it was rejected by the Court.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
The Argentine Pharmaceutical Confederation (COFA) had filed an appeal for protection before the Federal Administrative Litigation Court 3, headed by Santiago Carrillo, whose resolution was “
to declare the declaratory action inadmissible
due to the plaintiffs' lack of procedural aptitude.”
So the Court did not rule on whether the COFA's arguments, which argue that the changes sought by the Executive Branch are
unconstitutional and an affront
to the pharmaceutical profession,
are valid or not
.
He only said that it is not up to this confederation to make such a proposal.
The ruling explains that "the condition of 'case or cause'
that must be addressed by a similar lane is
not fully established ."
And it concludes: “It is proven that the plaintiff COFA does not have sufficient
procedural legitimacy
to enable control of the legality of DNU 70/23, in the terms of its initial brief.”
In other words, it enables
each of the members of the confederation
, in case they consider their rights violated, to appear individually before Justice.
It is based on a Court ruling that stated that “the importance of a collective process, as a way of guaranteeing access to Justice, becomes relevant when
the cost
of suing individually
clearly exceeds the benefit
that each of the members of the the class could obtain from the sentence handed down.”
P.S.