Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Tuesday, revealed that 271 cases of people diagnosed with chikungunya were reported in March.
The HPA campaign to create awareness and mitigate mosquito-transmitted illnesses has, since its inception this month, released information to social media on a weekly basis about people who have contracted dengue fever and chikungunya.
The highest amount of cases of chikungunya found this year till date were in March. While 74 cases were reported in January, 179 contracted the disease in February.
Majority of chickungunya cases were found in Gaafu Alif Atoll, and 49 people were afflicted with the disease this month to date.
According to HPA, for the month of April to present day, 88 people had contracted dengue fever, amounting to a total of 1,493 dengue fever cases this year.
The agency had carried out activities in the previous month to mitigate mosquito-transmitted diseases. With the collaborative aid of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Male City Council, construction sites were inspected and stagnant water on the sites was cleared.
Additionally, HPA’s work to generate awareness on mosquito-transmitted illnesses is underway. HPA Programme Manager Sana Salem revealed that HPA is planning several special activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Education for students and parents.
HPA revealed that the majority of cases of dengue fever occur in the months of May, June and July in Maldives, every year.
The agency estimated that cases of common cold and influenza would increase drastically in the coming years, and advised the populace to get vaccinated for influenza.
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