Martinique is currently trying to counter the spread of dengue fever. The authorities thus called on the population on Tuesday to mobilize to fight against the epidemic which is actively circulating on the island.
“It is imperative that everyone understands that there is work to control their environment to remove (the) breeding sites,” said Manuel Etienne, director of the Center for Mosquito Control and Entomological Research, during a conference in joint press with the Regional Health Agency, the prefecture and the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique.
The island in epidemic phase since August 17
Without specific treatment, the fight against dengue depends on that against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito (a species different from the tiger mosquito present in France), vector of the disease on the island. Avoid letting the water stagnate, change the water in the vases to prevent the reproduction of the mosquito or protect yourself with long clothes and repellents are all good gestures recalled Tuesday by the authorities.
“The objective is to ensure that we have as few patients as possible because we are in an extremely wet period”, declared Laurence Gola de Monchy, secretary general of the prefecture of Martinique, while the island was placed in the epidemic phase on August 17. Of the 34 municipalities on the island, 27 are affected by arbovirosis. According to Santé Public France, Martinique is currently affected by the DENV2 serotype, one of the four types of dengue virus.
“Since January 2023, the number of cases suggestive of dengue is estimated at more than 3,000”, also indicated the health authorities, “690 cases have been biologically confirmed, more than half of them in the last four weeks”.
“The last major crisis linked to DENV2 dates back more than 10 years”, also recalled Laurence Gola de Monchy, specifying that “young audiences who were born after 2013-2014 are absolutely not immune to this viral strain”. The previous dengue fever epidemic in Martinique, on the other hand, extended from 2019 to 2021. More than 33,000 cases and 17 deaths were recorded during this period.
A hemorrhagic form in 1% of cases
Dengue fever is characterized by high fever (40°C), intense headaches, retro-orbital pain, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting, according to the World Health Organization. The haemorrhagic form of the disease represents “about 1% of dengue fever cases worldwide and is extremely severe”, specifies Public Health France Antilles.