Official says tripled dengue deaths is cause for alarm

SantoDomingo.- The 29 deaths from dengue thusfar this year more than triple the nine registered in the same period in 2012, promptingalarm since the season for the disease isn’t at its height.

Cases have alsotripled nationwide from 1,500 in 2012 to around 4500 this year.

DeputyHealth minister Nelson A. Rodriguez said the jump could be the result of thepresence of the four types of dengue. "We expect the number of cases to increase,because we’ve entered the height of the disease, which begins in the rainymonths of May and June, increasing the chances of creating breeding groundsthat multiply the mosquito.”

He said animportant part of the population could suffer from the disease this year.