W. Africa: outbreak of Dengue fever in Cape Verde
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Published: November 10, 2009
PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — A Red Cross official says Dengue fever has infected as many as 11,000 people and killed four in the first known outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in West Africa.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies health official Anders Naucler said Tuesday the fever was initially mistaken for H1N1 swine flu virus. He said 3,000 cases have been confirmed in the island nation since September.
He says the fever has hit all four inhabited islands, with the greatest number of cases on the main island of Santiago. He says health officials fear the virus will spread rapidly.
Dengue fever is a flulike illness spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The disease often spikes after big rains, when insects breed in stagnant water.
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