Kemo Cham, AfricaNews reporter in Dakar, Senegal
Cape Verde is under the threat of the biggest ever outbreak of Dengue Fever on the continent. The Health Ministry reported over 13,000 suspected cases between October and November 2009. According to Medecins Sans Frontieres it is the first in the West African county and quite devastating.
Dr Iza Ciglenecki, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Cape Verde said: “With globalization, dengue fever is appearing in places where it has previously been unknown, it is the most rapidly spreading mosquito born disease in the world.”
Dengue is a viral disease, transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. Its symptoms are similar to flu or malaria, characterized by high fever, headache and muscle pain. Most patients recover, but in a small proportion of cases the disease can progress into a more severe form.
The MSF report said it has deployed its emergency teams to the country.
“The Cape Verde Ministry of Health has reported 13,187 suspected cases of dengue fever in four islands within the archipelago between 1st October and 9th November. The outbreak is the first ever in Cape Verde and is the biggest recorded in Africa. The number of cases has increased sharply since the beginning of November, reaching 1000 cases per day. Ninety-three cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever have been reported and six people have already died,” the MSF report read.
But the international medical humanitarian organization said that international response to the outbreak has so far been positive, with public health experts and international medical teams now providing medical support, case management, surveillance and diagnostics.
It added that in Sao Filipe, the main town on the island of Fogo where it sent a team to support the hospital, between 100 and 150 new dengue cases are being reported on a daily basis. Fogo has a population of around 40 000 people.
MSF has promised the arrival of more medical staff by the end of the week to support health centers in the country’s capital city of Praia on Santiago Island.
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