In statements to Ecuavisa channel, Federation President Wilson Tenorio warned that there is an underreporting and the Ministry of Health has underestimated the disease that is aggressively affecting some countries in the region.

“It has not listened to a request that today more than ever is urgent,” he stated.

The Medical Federation considers that in addition to the declaration of a health alert, which would provide more resources to fight the disease, the Ministry should adopt two fundamental measures such as strengthening primary healthcare units and that vector control teams visit homes.

To date, 38,344 cases of dengue fever have been reported in Ecuador and 45 people have died.

According to specialists, those figures exceed the total for 2023, when 27,838 people were infected.

The coastal province of Manabí is the most affected region with 6,847 patients, followed by El Oro with 4,605, Los Ríos with 4,527, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas with 4,261 and Guayas with 4,259.

Local experts have pointed out that this year, the El Niño phenomenon has brought high temperatures and severe flooding in Ecuador, thus favoring the spread of dengue fever.

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