The shopping trip to Chile became tempting for many Argentines who live near its borders due to the lower cost of some products and, especially, due to the variety and quantity available.
With the increase in dengue cases, the demand for
repellent
grew and it is
one of the most sought-after items
that Argentines who cross the Cordillera carry in their trunks.
It is striking that the same supermarket chains, such as
Jumbo
,
in Santiago de Chile and Viña del Mar, do have stock of repellents
; and in Argentina, the gondolas are empty.
In the prices of the products there are also differences with the trans-Andean country:
30% cheaper
on average.
In the Viña del Mar supermarket, the mosquito repellent, extra-duration aerosol, 170 cc, is available between
$7 and $9.40
, depending on the different brands. In Mendoza, a province bordering Chile, the top brand 170 cc aerosol costs
13 thousand pesos (13 blue dollars)
. But it is almost impossible to get it in supermarkets, it is only in some pharmacies.
The unusual thing is that the product is manufactured in Argentina, but in our country it costs almost twice as much and is not available.
The green Off is available in Chile at almost half the price than in Argentina, where it is manufactured.
The long-lasting repellent cream in a 100-gram container costs
11 thousand pesos
in Argentina ; while in the supermarket in Chile it costs
$6.80
.
A box of 10 spirals,
Tamax
brand , costs
$1.30 in Viña del Mar,
and the shelf is not full of that product.
Buy repellent in Chile to protect yourself from dengue in Argentina
Many Argentines who traveled to Chile over Easter weekend looked for insecticides, sprays, creams, spirals and mosquito repellent tablets and took the opportunity to buy these products, given the shortage in their provinces.
In a pharmacy in Reñaca, the spa in the Chilean Fifth Region most visited by Argentines, the Repelex
brand aerosol
is offered this Wednesday,
$6.70
.
In Chile there are a thousand times fewer cases of dengue than in Argentina, but a variety of repellent brands are available.
"They tell me that there has been no shortage of repellent. In Chile there is also an increase in dengue cases," says Rosana, a lawyer from Mendoza, who is on vacation in the seaside resort city of Concón.
The
variety of brands
of mosquito repellents and insecticides is another aspect that most attracts the attention of Argentines who were looking for repellents.
Andrea, a native of Mendoza traveling to Viña del Mar, brought a significant amount of repellents for the next few months: "I bought pills, spray and cream, two containers of each, well-known brands and others that are only from Chile," she details to
Clarín
. while arranging the bags in the parking lot of the main shopping center of the spa city.
Although Chile is far from the figures recorded by Argentina and Brazil, it has also shown growth in cases in recent weeks.
More than 40 thousand Argentines crossed into Chile over the extra long weekend.
According to official figures from the Chilean Ministry of Health, published by the newspaper
El Mercurio
, until last Saturday there were 16 cases on Easter Island and 96 throughout Chile.
When comparing the first two months of this year with the same period in 2023, in Chile there is a
249% increase
in suspected cases of the disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The Ministry of Health of the trans-Andean country declared a health alert until the end of the year.
In Argentina, according to the latest Epidemiological Bulletin there were more than 180 thousand confirmed cases and 129 deaths, figures that represent a historical record.
Given the threat posed by the disease in the region, the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Health of Valparaíso, Lorena Cofré, explained that "we have adopted immediate measures and actions, such as surveillance and epidemiological control, in addition to fumigation to eliminate the vector and possible breeding sites." .
Viña del Mar. Special envoy
MG