Dengue suspected in Cayo death

Although results of blood samples from a Bullet Tree man who died yesterday are not yet back from the lab, medical authorities say the symptoms suggest that the cause of death could have been Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. The man, whose identity has not been released by authorities, reportedly checked into a hospital in neighbouring Melchor de Mencos on Saturday, already in a critical state. He then visited La Loma Luz Hospital, the Belmopan Hospital, and finally the K.H.M.H., where he died.

If it turns out that hemorrhagic Dengue is indeed the culprit, this would be the first time that anyone has died from that disease in Belize. What also has doctors puzzled is that this is not even Dengue season. The carrier, the aedes egypti mosquito, is usually out in force during the rainy months between June and December, not at the start of the dry.

A team is scheduled to travel to Melchor tomorrow where tests were conducted on the patient. The team will also visit his home in Bullet Tree to investigate the circumstances of his death. There were no reports of Classical Dengue or the hemorrhagic variety for the whole of last year.