IANS, United Nations :
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday said that authorities in Central America reported that dengue had killed at least 124 people among the nearly 127,000 cases of the mosquito-borne disease tallied up to 8 August, Xinhua reported.
“Children and adolescents are the most affected,” OCHA said. “In Honduras, children under 15 represent two-thirds of confirmed deaths.”
The United Nations and humanitarian organisations are supporting government-led responses in Central America with medical supplies and equipment; community vector control and surveillance; door-to-door awareness campaigns and fumigation; and direct technical support for community health centres, OCHA said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported earlier this week that 167,607 dengue cases, including 720 deaths, were counted up to 27 July, a 97 per cent higher rate than last year despite a delayed rainy season.
The UN health agency said the viral disease has rapidly spread in recent years and is transmitted mainly by the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also transmits chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika infections, and carried to a lesser degree by the Aedes Albopictus mosquito.
