While the coronavirus hits the world, there are areas of Argentina where another epidemic has been going on for a couple of years, and is apparently here to stay: Dengue fever, which is carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito, an infection that in extreme cases can result in death.

Adrián Galo, director of Vector-Borne Disease Control, explained that the southern region of South America is currently experiencing a "surge" of the disease, which he said "occurs every four years".

However, although there have been an exponential number of cases in the northern provinces of Argentina and in southern neighbourhoods of the city of Buenos Aires, the official said that the country's cases have been dropping against the year 2016, when around 76,000 cases were reported.

All of this has been happening in regions far from the center of the country, that is, the city of Buenos Aires. Argentina’s big media also tends to give more focus to stories happening in European countries than in regions that are much closer.

According to Galo, the situation in Argentina with regard to neighboring countries is relatively better because, according to the World Health Organization, "Paraguay reported 213,000 cases since December, Bolivia 76,000, Brazil 730,000 cases. Argentina, from July 2019 to date has 44,000 cases, and 25 deaths”.

Epidemiologist Julian Atman explained the importance of early diagnosis and attention to symptoms in order to avoid patients’ complications.

Adrián Galo informed that the most affected areas by dengue this year in Argentina are the City and the province of Buenos Aires; the provinces of Santa Fe, Salta, Jujuy and Chaco, in the north and northwest.

Dengue fever, according to researchers at the University of Buenos Aires, has arrived in Argentina because the mosquito that carries the virus has adapted well to this area’s weather.

For this reason, they stressed the importance of emptying containers where there may be stagnant water where the mosquitoes can breed.

Translation and V.O.: Fernando Farias

Production: Silvana Avellaneda

Web: Julián Cortez