Dengue Figures So Far Surpass 2022 Figures

The rainy season has begun and as a country we are in the summer months, which are traditionally known for a spike in dengue cases. With the COVID pandemic, there was a drastic decrease in the recorded number of cases – not only in Belize, but also in the Central America and Caribbean regions. There is a resurgence of dengue cases this year and the numbers are up, but it is not as alarming as 2019 when there was a dengue pandemic that saw over eight thousand cases and ten dengue-related deaths recorded. Vector Control Chief of Operations Kim Bautista tells News Five that at week twenty-eighth, the country has already surpassed last year’s figures for dengue.

Kim Bautista

Kim Bautista, Chief of Operations, Vector Control Unit, MOHW

“The region, after having enjoyed two years of very low number of cases during the pandemic, we started seeing an increase in cases in the region last year. Not alarmingly but basically going back to the trends that were expected. And then this year, even before the rains start, for the first half of the year, we started seeing regionally an increase in dengue cases. It varied by country; I think the most recent data that came out earlier today in the region from WHO shows an increase that ranges between twenty-five to fifty percent increase in the region depending on the country. That is also true for Belize as well. Last year, we had reported eight hundred and thirty cases countrywide for the entire year. This year we are already up to eight hundred and eighty-one cases as of this past Saturday, which is the conclusion of the epidemiology week twenty-eight.”