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Nicaragua

Nicaragua - Dengue Outbreak DREF Operation (MDRNI009)

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A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

On 31 July 2019, the Ministry of Health declared an Epidemiological Alert to control the mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and zika. There are 55,289 cases suspicious of dengue officially confirmed. This alert situation must be handled carefully, responsibly, as 2,232 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported this year. There is a significant increase of 271% of confirmed cases comparing the data from 2018 and 2019.

According to the most recent report issued by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the period between 1 January and 22 June 2019, Nicaragua is the country with the second highest incidence of dengue cases in Latin America, preceded by Brazil and followed by Colombia and Honduras. The incidence rate in Nicaragua is 441 per 100, 000 inhabitants; however, it is the country that reports the lowest lethality rate, i.e. fewer deaths from dengue.

The following table shows the dengue virus' spread in July 2019, per week and per department. As can be seen, Managua, Chinandega and Masaya are first, second and fourth in total case load, respectively. It also shows a 145 per cent increase in the first two departments - more than twice that reported in the rest of the country in comparison with the number of cases from weeks 19-24 and the number of cases from weeks 25-30.