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Dengue fever spreads again in Hodeida
Four cases in Al-Lohaia district of Hodeidah were confirmed of infection with Dengue fever. (wikimedia.org)
Dengue fever is a virus which infects humans, causing high temperature, headache, and pain in the joints and muscles. Sometimes the virus can cause internal bleeding.
"We have to deal seriously with and find possible solutions to eradicate this [Dengue] epidemic in Hodeida. It is a coastal area, its climate is very hot in the summer, and the epidemic may spread to different areas from Hodeida," said Dr. Sultan Al-Maqtari, the director of the Epidemic Surveillance Center in Hodeida.
Around 67 people in the village of Deer Al-Dokhna in Al-Lohaia district complain symptoms of the dengue fever, but it has not been confirmed yet whether they have the virus or not . Laboratory tests of 12 people from the village showed that only 4 people were dengue fever infected and no people died, according to Al-Maqtari.
"Most infected people suffer from a high temperature, 95 percent of them suffer headaches, 99 percent experience pain in the joints and muscles, and three percent suffer from internal bleeding," according to the report released by the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Hodeida.
The report mentioned the measures taken by the Ministry of Public Health and Population to decrease the number of infections, such as epidemic surveillance activities, treating infections, and sending teams of specialized doctors to Al-Lohaia district.
The report stressed that it is very important that doctors and nurses follow the usual procedures when they discover a new infection and report it to the Epidemic Surveillance Center in Al-Lohaia district.
Dengue fever kills many people, particularly in the countryside, according to Ishaq Salah, from the Tehama People's Union.
Saleh accused the Public Health Center in Hodeida of paying little attention to villages in which the epidemic is highly spread.
"There are more than 1,000 infected people," claimed Saleh.
Dr. Ahmed Qasim Al-Ansi, the Minister of Public Health and Population, and Dr. Shaif Ezi, the Minister of State, held an urgent meeting last Wednesday in Hodieda with the governor of Hodeida to discuss the dangerous spread of Dengue fever in the city .
The urgent meeting was held by order issued by the Yemeni Cabinet last Tuesday. The cabinet instructed establishing special teams in order to control the spread of Dengue fever in Hodeida.
