Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - The Ecuadorian health ministry declared a “local health emergency” following a vertiginous 100 per cent rise in cases of dysentery.
The epidemic is affecting the whole of central America in general and it is mainly due to the rotavirus responsible for 70% of the deaths. Since 1 January at least 62 people have died and 108,403 have been infected.
According to the respective health ministries dysentery was the cause of 33 deaths in Nicaragua, 20 in El Salvador, 8 in Guatemala and 2 in Costa Rica, and most of them were children under five. El Salvador is the country with the highest number of registered cases, 73,274, caused mainly by the rotavirus. In the first two months of this year in Nicaragua 33,655 cases were reported and 33 patients died, most of them children. In the capital Managua 1,808 were reported. The northern areas of Nueva Segovia, Madriz and Esteli are the worst hit.
In 2004 there were 25, 884 cases of dysentery and 18 deaths in Nicaragua, 277,946 cases in El Salvador, 100,178 in Costa Rica, 236,966 in Honduras. (AP) (Agenzia Fide 3/3/2005; Righe:18
