The number of patients suffering from dengue fever in Bonaire is no longer increasing

Kralendijk – Health representative Nina den Heer says the number of dengue fever (dengue) cases on the island is higher than in recent years, but the number of cases has not increased for several weeks. Public Health adds that this still relates to an average of 17 patients per week.

Den Heer also said that no one on Bonaire has died from dengue virus infection, and that as of 2024, only two people have been hospitalized due to complications caused by the virus.

The public entity in Bonaire is constantly investigating possible breeding grounds, especially in the vicinity of patients who have contracted the virus. “Initially this was happening 7 days a week, but now that the number of new cases has stabilized, this research is being conducted 5 days a week,” Den Heer said during the weekly press conference last Friday.

In this way, a search was carried out in 100 homes on the island, while a total of 400 potential breeding sites were visited to determine whether the Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes dengue fever was also present there. These 400 breeding sites have been treated so that dengue mosquitoes cannot lay their eggs there.

help

The MP also appealed to citizens to help combat mosquitoes and their breeding areas. “We can also do a lot ourselves, for example by keeping windows and doors closed at times when many mosquitoes are gathering around the house, by wearing protective clothing or by applying a protective product to the skin.”

In addition, many government commercials call for preventing breeding grounds by not having objects in the garden where water remains after rain.

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