(Las otras 4 son el SIDA, el Ebola, la Meningitis, y el Colera)
DENGUE FEVER
What is it?
An infection spread by mosquitoes that causes acute muscle and joint pain. Cases are generally non-lethal but dengue occasionally results in a deadly hemorrhagic fever.
Where is it?
Dengue fever outbreaks have been reported in the tropics for centuries, but until 1970, only around 9 countries had been afflicted. Infections have spiked dramatically in dozens of countries in recent years, and there are now an estimated 50 million infections per year. Around two fifths of the world's population is currently at risk for the disease, according to the WHO. Latin America has been particularly susceptible. Unlike other mosquito borne-diseases, such as malaria, dengue affects both urban and rural areas.
Current outbreak:
While the world's attention has been focused on Mexico's swine flu, a severe dengue outbreak infected 50,000 people in Bolivia and more than 20,000 in Argentina. (Georgetown's Michael Shifter wrote for FP this week about how the Argentine government's slow response to the crisis has become a scandal in Buenos Aires.) Exact figures are difficult to obtain due to underreporting ( que raro no?), but the death toll is thought to be in the hundreds. Australia is also struggling to contain a dengue outbreak that has infected nearly 1,000 people.(gracias Blogbis).
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