The 2009 Bolivian dengue fever epidemic is an epidemic

Epidemic

In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...

 of the lethal dengue fever

Dengue fever

Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...

 which has struck the South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n country of Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 in early 2009, escalating into a national emergency by February. The BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 describes it as the worst outbreak of dengue fever in the country's history. 18 people have thus far been killed and 31,000 have been infected by the mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...

-transmitted arbovirus.

On 20 February, the Pan American Health Organization

Pan American Health Organization

The Pan American Health Organization is an international public health agency with over 100 years of experience working to improve health and living standards of the people of the Americas...

 reported that eighty (80) cases of the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever had occurred in Bolivia since January, of which 22% were fatal. Bolivia has requested outside assistance and foreign aid.

Background

Bolivia first declared a national emergency in early February 2009, when it alerted the world about the country's worst outbreak of dengue fever in twenty-two years. By 3 February, five people had been killed in the east of the country and over 7,000 more were infected. Worst hit is the Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz Department

Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of...

, near the Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

an border and the Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

. A number of military facilities, particularly in the city of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia and the largest city in the country...

, have been turned into temporary hospitals as the real hospitals struggle to cope with the conditions. Thousands of soldiers have been enlisted to assist medical workers. Since then, the government has allocated funds to supply hospitals across the country; however, it has been criticised in some quarters for the slowness of its actions. The infection is most widespread in the tropical eastern lowlands, where conditions have led to a thriving mosquito population. Bolivia's healthcare services are said to be having difficulty in coping with the outbreak, with experts from Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 and the World Health Organisation being called in to assist.

Foreign aid

Hirofumi Nakasone

Hirofumi Nakasone

is a Japanese politician from Takasaki, Gunma, who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs until September 2009. He was Minister of Education under Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori. He is former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's son....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...

 plans to send seven million yen

Japanese yen

The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

 in emergency relief goods.

Mosquito transmission

Mosquitoes thrive in the high temperatures and humidity of the Bolivian lowlands and it is this region which sees the highest numbers of infected civilians. There is currently no vaccine for dengue fever. Those infected experience flu-like symptoms such as severe headaches, fevers and joint pain. The infected are advised by medical experts to drink lots of fluids and obtain significant rest. Dengue fever sufferers have an approximate 1% chance of progressing to the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms for such a progression include hypothermia

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

, vomiting, severe abdominal pain and confusion. The global average case-fatality ratio for dengue hemorrhagic fever is 5%.

External links

• Dengue fever at the BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  
• Dengue fever at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
  
  
• Pan American Health Organisation