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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has stepped up its efforts to help Central America in the face of a 98% increase in dengue cases compared to the same period in 2023. In the Americas alone, 2024 has become a record year, with more than 11 million cases recorded and more than 5,900 deaths.

Honduras is the country with the highest number of dengue cases, according to PAHO. Statistics indicate that the territory has accumulated more than 90,600 cases, followed by Guatemala, with 58,341; Costa Rica, with 15,652; and El Salvador, with 4,731.

The head of the Vector-Borne Diseases Program of the Ministry of Health, Amy Tovar, reported that so far this year in Honduras there have been 91,670 confirmed cases of dengue, 31 deaths, 120 suspected deaths and 89 cases under analysis.

According to Tovar, in Honduras, the population group most affected by the disease is people between 15 and 49 years old; while the second most affected group is children from five to 14 years old and in third place are children from one to four years old.

In epidemiological week 29 alone, up to August 8, PAHO recorded 8,457 suspected cases of dengue; in Guatemala, 3,848; in Costa Rica, 1,092; and in El Salvador, 255 cases.

Unlike Honduras, Guatemala is the country with the most deaths from the disease. A publication by «Prensa Libre» with reports from the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance revealed that there are 66 deaths; while the Ministry of Health of El Salvador shared that the number rises to seven deaths.

Since the beginning of July, the government of President Nayib Bukele has issued a red alert due to the increase in cases and ordered nationwide fumigation campaigns in a collaborative effort between Civil Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Fire Department, the National Directorate of Municipal Works (DOM) and the Armed Forces.

In response to this epidemic in Central America, PAHO highlighted that it has deployed a series of strategic measures. Since 2023, in collaboration with the Executive Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (SE-Comisca) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, a comprehensive plan has been implemented that has included training on management, diagnosis, clinical management and vector control, according to a statement from the organization.

This initiative included updating protocols and providing reagents to improve epidemiological and laboratory surveillance. In addition, the creation of a situation room accessible at all times to the technical teams of the Central American countries, “which supports decision-making for prevention and control,” announced PAHO.

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