Dengue: three deaths in Martinique in two weeks, including a child

The dengue epidemic continues to progress in Martinique, sometimes to dramatic proportions. Three people, including a child, have died there since September 18, the Regional Health Agency (ARH) said on Thursday evening.

ARS, citing the French public health agency, said the three deaths were “directly attributable to dengue fever after a collegial medical examination.” Among the three victims, a 9-year-old child living in the southern town of Anse d’Arlay died this week after several days in hospital, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. Mayor of the city Eugene Larcher. “We created a psychological listening team,” the elected official said. “We have also alerted ARS to come to the site to identify the larval breeding sites so that we can eradicate these mosquitoes.”

The Martinique 1ere channel clarifies that the unit includes psychologists as well as social workers. She adds that the young victim studied at CM1 school. She fell ill at the end of September. Since then, his condition has continued to deteriorate.

100 cases per 10,000 inhabitants

Martinique and Guadeloupe have been in the epidemic phase of this tropical disease, which is transmitted mainly through mosquito bites, since mid-August. It can include high fever, headaches, body aches, nausea and skin rashes.

For several weeks, municipalities in southern Martinique, including Anse d’Arlay, have had some of the highest incidence rates in the overseas territory, with a prevalence of 100 cases per 10,000 inhabitants, according to the latest weekly bulletin from French Public Health. .

According to the same source, the symbolic threshold of 1,000 cases per week was passed last week on the Caribbean island of 352,000 people. “Since the beginning of the epidemic, 13 severe cases have been registered, including six deaths,” ARS points out.