Disease

Dengue Fever Outbreak in Central America

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has issued a dengue fever epidemic alert for the member states of Central America and Dominican Republic Subregion, which include Mexico and the Caribbean, as these countries enter the rainy season.

Outbreaks of the mosquito borne viral disease have been reported from throughout the Americas to include Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. In Peru, cases were reported where there had previously not been locally acquired dengue cases.

Swine Flu in South Africa - Nothing to Worry About!

There is no outbreak of the H1N1 virus also known as swine flu in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) assured on Wednesday despite at least 20 people having been diagnosed with the flu over the last few weeks.

At least one person died from the virus.

The NICD’s Barry Schoub says there is nothing unusual about people being diagnosed with this flu. “It’s a normal flu we get every winter.”