Update. Santé Publique France announces, this Monday, July 25, 4 confirmed cases of dengue fever in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Another person is suspected, she is also the subject of epidemiological monitoring.
Since May 1, 2022 in Occitanie, 13 confirmed cases of imported dengue fever have been identified by Public Health France. Among the infected patients, 5 of them returned from Cuba, 3 from Reunion, 2 from Brazil, 2 from Mexico, 1 from Indonesia and 1 other from Singapore.
This Monday, July 25, 4 new cases were reported by Public Health France in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Another patient could also be contaminated. He is being followed today for further examinations. “All these cases are so-called imported cases. The people concerned were returning from a trip abroad, 3 were returning from Cuba and one from Reunion”, specifies Guillaume Dubois, departmental delegate of the Regional Health Agency. “They have been placed under a specific treatment (called adulticide editor’s note) and are fortunately doing well. This situation required the treatment of 7 sites, 4 in Perpignan, 1 in Pia, 1 in Espira-de-l’Agly and 1 in Canohès “These sites – home, workplace, clinic – are thus mosquito-removed in particular to avoid possible spread. The last treatments were actually carried out overnight from Monday to Tuesday”.
The ARS, Santé Publique France and Altopictus are the stakeholders in these situations. The objective is to avoid local transmission and therefore so-called autochthonous cases. “These interventions were accompanied beforehand by an information campaign with door-to-door, the distribution of flyers, as well as posters. We must reassure the population, today, all the cases listed are imported cases”.
Indigenous case or not? Response within a week
The ARS of Pyrénées-Orientales thus confirms that there is currently no case of autochthonous dengue fever detected, but one case remains under investigation. “We have to wait a week to have the results of the investigations of the National Reference Center for Arboviruses”.
Remember that dengue is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. The tiger mosquito, present in the Pyrénées-Orientales since 2002, can transmit the virus through blood “taken” during a bite. The most common symptoms are fever and joint pain. Its complications can be severe.
If the disease is in most cases asymptomatic, the usual form is manifested by a sudden fever associated with pain and a rash. In rare cases, serious and sometimes fatal complications can occur.