Twenty-one people have died and 600 have fallen ill with dengue in Mali, according to the man who runs the country’s public health department. Dr. Cheick Amadou Tidiane Traore, the director general of health and public hygiene, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that those were the counts as of Monday.
Dengue spreads through mosquito bites. Usually it looks like the flu. In severe cases it can cause joint pain, swollen glands, bleeding and death. There is no specific treatment, though the World Health Organization has recommended two vaccines for countries that suffer regular outbreaks.
Traore’s figures were the first public numbers of any kind. The government has not officially released data on the disease, and it has not announced whether it asked the WHO for help.
Strain on a fragile country
Mali is in a political transition and faces fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Against that backdrop, a new dengue epidemic risks worsening the humanitarian situation, particularly for the large number of displaced people.
The director called for action on awareness. “Dengue fever is also present in Burkina Faso and Senegal, and we need to raise public awareness,” Traore said.
The virus normally appears in more tropical environments, which makes its history in Mali unusual. It was first detected in the comparatively arid country in 2008. Reports came back in 2017 and 2019, and little long-term data exists on how common it is.
A wider pattern
Neighbouring Chad announced its first-ever dengue outbreak in August, with dozens of confirmed cases. Like Mali, it lies in the Sahel region south of the Sahara.
Globally, the WHO has reported record dengue cases this year in Bangladesh and the Americas, which have seen more than 300,000 cases and 4 million infections respectively. Scientists estimate about 96 million dengue infections occur every year.
Anyone with a high fever after mosquito exposure should see a doctor.
Sources
- Dengue fever is on the rise in Mali with more than 20 deaths, health director says
- Health: At least 21 deaths and 600 cases of dengue fever in Mali – The Times of India
