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Dominican Republic: Dengue Outbreak - July 2019

Estado
Pasado
Países
Rep. Dominicana
Tipos de desastres
Epidemia

On 5 July 2019, the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Public Health declared an epidemiological alert due to the sustained increase in dengue cases in the country.

During the last 4 weeks there have been a progressive and concerning number of cases of dengue from 5,548 cases reported as of EW29 to 8,855 as of EW33, meaning that 37% of the total cases have been reported just during the last 4 weeks. These figures show that there has been a peak of the outbreak during the last weeks that has triggered the need for a response.

The Ministry of Public Health has reported a total of 8,855 cases of dengue as of Epidemiological Week (EW) 33 (11 to 17 August), there is an increase that looks quite significant compared to the number of cases reported for the dengue epidemic in 2018 (711 cases as of EW 33).

The incidence rate for EW 32-2019 is 126.66 cases per 100,000 inhabitants whereas the incidence rate in 2016 was 54.20. According to authorities, 12 people have died of dengue as of EW 32.

Four dengue serotypes are present in the Dominican Republic. According to laboratories, the predominant serotypes identified during the current outbreak are D1 and D3, and the presence of all four serotypes increases the risk of severe cases.

This current epidemic event is affecting 29 of 32 provinces in the country. The province of San Jose de Ocoa is under a Red Alert (more than 10 cases/1000 inhabitants while remaining provinces are under Yellow Alert. The highest incidence rate is seen in the provinces of Barahona (485.4) and Independencia (457.6), and Santo Domingo reports the highest number of cases (2614 cases) due to its large population. (IFRC, 12 Sep 2019)