In Les Salines, after a fumigation exercise, the Minister of Health, Kailesh Jagutpal announced that war has been declared on dengue fever. He added that the State had put in place a protocol response to counter the current situation. This involves detection, identification of affected areas and the density of pockets of dengue. Fogging exercises and larviciding treatments have been initiated. The Minister of Health is also calling on the public to get involved in this fight.
According to the latest official figures from the Ministry of Health, the number of active cases of dengue fever as of Friday 16 February stands at around 643. This brings the total number of cases recorded since 11 December 2023 to 1,109. Compared to last Tuesday, when the official figures were published, there has been an alarming increase in the number of cases.In just three days, 104 new cases have been recorded.
As for the number of deaths attributed to dengue fever, the Ministry of Health reports two confirmed cases.
In Rodrigues too, the situation is giving cause for concern. While on Tuesday 13 February, 173 patients were reported to have dengue fever, this figure rose to 222 cases on Friday 16 February. In all, 347 people in Rodrigues have been affected by dengue fever.
According to the Ministry of Health’s Director of Health Services, dengue has never been endemic in Mauritius. “It requires a long duration of disease prevalence in multiple regions,” says Eshan Fareedun, was also present in a fumigation exercise in Les Salines with the Health Minister this Friday afternoon, February 16.
