Politics Finally, the government has decided to implement a dengue vaccination plan

[anton]

It will be implemented only in the most affected areas but at least it's a start...

Politics - Government prepares vaccination plan against dengue in critical areas together with provinces - Ambito

Government prepares vaccination plan against dengue in critical areas together with provinces - Ámbito Financiero Source: https://www.ambito.com/politica/gobierno-prepara-junto-provincias-plan-vacunacion-contra-el-dengue-zonas-criticas-n5995867 May 09, 2024 The action will be carried out...

www.expatsba.com

 

[Digital Nomad]

Missiones has come up with a Dengue Fever plan. Hopefully it's not going to be as bad as last year.

Argentine province of Misiones ups dengue prevention measures

The Argentine province of Misiones, one of the most vulnerable to the spread of dengue and other maladies carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito, has upped preventive actions ahead of the warmer seasons when infections among humans tend to multiply.

en.mercopress.com

 

[DaisyM]

There’s already a strategic vaccination plan that is expected to be implemented starting in September. Even though we’ve had a break from dengue mosquitoes with the cold wave, it’s said that they will start appearing again next month. So, stay alert for the vaccination.

https://www.infobae.com/salud/2024/08/23/reunion-de-los-ministros-de-salud-para-prevenir-el-dengue-cuando-comenzara-la-vacunacion-en-grupos-priorizados/

 

[Vero]

FYI. The city is randomly selecting people to participate in this testing. My sister was one of the people selected. On Friday, she received a letter from the Institute of Statistics and Census of the City of Buenos Aires asking if she would participate in the Dengue Seroprevalence testing program. She agreed.

Cómo será el operativo en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires que busca conocer cuántos porteños se contagiaron de dengue

Entre agosto y octubre, profesionales de la salud visitarán 6.000 hogares seleccionados aleatoriamente para realizar pruebas rápidas que detecten la presencia de anticuerpos y proteínas del virus. Los detalles

www.infobae.com

What will be the operation in the City of BA that seeks to find out how many residents of the City have contracted dengue? Between August and October, health professionals will visit 6,000 randomly selected homes to carry out rapid tests to detect the presence of antibodies and proteins of the virus. According to the latest data issued by the National Ministry of Health, up to Epidemiological Week 32 of 2024
(until July 10), 564,144 cases of dengue have been reported throughout the country, with a cumulative incidence of 1,199 infections
per 100,000 inhabitants. Of the total number of people affected nationwide, 56,078 are in the City of BA.

Given this situation, the Institute of Statistics and Census of the City of BA (IDECBA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the City, will carry out the second phase of the Dengue Seroprevalence Study between August and October. According to a statement, "the operation aims to estimate what percentage of the population over 18 years of age residing in the City has dengue or has had it at some point in their life."

The ministry headed by Fernán Quirós also indicated that the study will be carried out by a team of health professionals, including nurses
and awareness-raisers, who will visit 6,000 randomly selected homes. In each home, a rapid test will be carried out on an adult member,
with their prior informed consent, selected from the household. A blood sample will be taken by finger prick and the result obtained simultaneously. It allows the identification of IgG and IgM antibodies and the NS1 protein of the dengue virus. In addition to the testing, a brief survey will be administered to collect information on the participant's health history, possible previous dengue infections, recent symptoms, and data on vaccination against dengue and yellow fever. As well as the educational level, health history, and knowledge about dengue. The person selected for the test will be asked the sex and age of all residents in the home and the data will be recorded. “All information will be treated with absolute confidentiality and will be used solely for epidemiological purposes,” stressed the City of BA health Minister.

Home visits will take place Monday through Saturday between 10:00 and 17:00, from August 15 to October 31. Before each visit, "IDECBA sends a participation notice to the selected addresses explaining what the study is about and how it is carried out", while on the Institute's website "the identity of the awareness-raisers and the nurses can be verified". "The information is also available on BOTI (the City's chatBot) and through Line #147". The BA Institute indicated that "the data obtained, once compiled, processed and analyzed, are made known in our Data Bank and published on the Institute's website."

 

[Vero]

Also CABA announced the purchase of 60,000 vaccines for Dengue Fever.

El gobierno de CABA anunció la compra de 60 mil vacunas contra el dengue: quiénes y cuándo podrán sacar turno

El objetivo es "fortalecer y complementar la estrategia nacional de vacunación", según informaron las autoridades porteñas. Además, lanzaron una campaña de prevención de cuatro etapas para detectar y controlar la proliferación del mosquito vector

www.infobae.com

Who and when will be able to get an appointment. During 2024, according to the latest Epidemiological Bulletin of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, between weeks 1 and 34,764,901 cases were reported throughout the country, with 56,435 of them in the City of BA.

Starting on September 18, the Ministry of Health of CABA will enable the allocation of appointments through its website. The vaccination plan will be carried out progressively for all persons between the ages of 15 and 39 years old and in different stages, following national guidelines. The process will begin with adolescents aged 15 to 19, and then continue with those age 20 to 29. Finally, it will be the turn of adults aged 30 to 39. Twelve vaccination centers will be set up in various neighborhoods of the City, which will include hospitals, CeSACS (Community Health and Action Centers) and extra-hospital posts....

As reported by Infobae, the vaccine available in Argentina - and authorized by ANMAT in 2023 - is the Qdenga ® vaccine from the Japanese Takeda Laboratory, which in clinical studies showed an 84% reduction in hospitalizations and a 61% decrease in symptomatic cases after the application of two doses. The vaccine is tetravalent and is administered in two doses of 0.5 ml that must be applied with an interval of 3 months. It provides protection against the four serotypes of dengue and is intended for persons over 4 years of age (and without age limit)
who have or have not had the infection. It is contraindicated in pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding and in patients with immunocompromised.

Regarding the comprehensive dengue prevention campaign in the Capital, Infobae spoke with the head of the City of BA gov't, Jorge Macri, and the Minister of Health of the City, Fernán Quirós....The annual plan was developed in four phases: from July to September; from October to December; January; and from February to June. Each of these stages has specific actions that target different aspects of dengue prevention and control....

....The fourth and final stage of the campaign will take place between February and June, coinciding with the time of greatest circulation of the virus. During this phase, epidemiological control measures will be intensified and the public health system's care network will be deployed to deal with the situation. During this period, four new day hospitals will be established in acute care hospitals, and hydration points will be strengthened in CeSACs. These units will allow for more than 3,000 consultations per day, according to reports....Efforts will also be directed at preparing the public health system for a rapid and effective response when there are more cases of dengue. The 18 existing fever units will be joined by new day hospitals, which will be operational during the summer, the period of greatest circulation of the virus.

There was also this announcement.

10 Sept 2024....As stated in the joint press conference: the Head of Gov't of BA, Jorge Macri, stressed that in addition to immunization, it is essential to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds at homes to reduce the magnitude of the outbreak. Appointments for doses will be available starting Wednesday, Sept 18...The City's Minister of Health, Dr. Hernan Quirós who is a reference in infectious diseases explained why those over 60 years of age are not included in this stage. He stated that the current dengue vaccine “has been in use for a little less than two years” in the real world and “there is still a lack of scientific information to answer some questions” and clarified that more research is needed to establish recommendations for older adults.

This means that although the vaccine is safe and effective, further studies are still needed in the age group over 60 years of age to have more details In the meantime, Quirós added, “the recommendations of the PAHO, WHO and the Immunization Commission will be followed, focusing on the groups that transmit the disease the most about the immune response it generates". “Having vaccines this year, which we did not have last year, does not solve the disease or the possibility of an outbreak, but it helps, accompanies, limits and allows us to fight, but the commitment of each and every one of the residents is essential,”

Dr. Quirós took advantage of the conference to clarify the widespread belief that, in all cases, the second dengue infection is more serious than the first: “Another widely spread concept, which is easily repeated, is that the second case of dengue is much more serious than the first, and this information is not entirely accurate. There is some evidence that, after the first infection, the severity levels instead of 0.1% reach 0.2% or 0.3%, but this is still under discussion in the literature.”

Dr. Quiros emphasized that the real increase in the severity of cases in people who have already had dengue is “extremely rare", which is
why he described there is a “disproportionate concern” that does not correspond to reality, especially considering the concern of those who
have already had dengue and are very afraid of a second infection. He stressed that, in most cases, the second episode of infection will be very similar to the first : “Although many have had fever and malaise, we are talking about serious conditions, severe morbidity or mortality, which is extremely rare when the disease is well cared for and treated.”

Strategies to address the increase in consultations. Health authorities have reinforced the capacity of the entire public health system to deal with a possible increase in consultations due to dengue. The city's hospitals are prepared to handle more than 3,000 consultations per day.
In addition to the 18 fever care units operating in the 14 general acute care hospitals, the two pediatric hospitals, the Muñiz Hospital and the Ferrer Hospital, there are 4 new day hospitals that will be able to handle more than 3,000 consultations a day in the summer, the period of greatest circulation of the virus.

At the same time, residents are encouraged to report mosquito breeding sites. They can do so by calling 147, using BOTI (11 5050-0147) or through the “Report breeding site” link on the official website. During the last outbreak, the City of BA was the only district in the country that decided to test all residents who presented symptoms and carried out more than 65 thousand tests to detect cases of dengue.

 

[Billy Goat]

Hopefully this problem with Dengue is not the new normal. It was very bad this year and last year here and especially Brazil too. Let's hope this isn't bad this year again.