Dengue infection continues to increase in Cali and the Valley. Children and older adults are the most affected

Dengue does not let up either in Cali or in Valle del Cauca, as the numbers continue to increase regardless of age or social status.

According to the Government of Valle, there have been 34,237 confirmed cases of dengue in the department, with a mortality of 10 cases (not including Cali and Buenaventura).

While Cali has so far this year, according to figures from the District Health Secretariat, 19,545 cases. In the last week, 1,186 new patients have presented themselves.

Germán Escobar Morales, health secretary of Cali, explained that as he had announced since the beginning of the year, the epidemiological projections showed that there would be a sustained increase in cases practically throughout the first semester.

“We had a temporary plateau four weeks ago, then with the intermittency in the rainy season, that is, rainy days interspersed with dry days, we have once again had an increase in cases as shown by the epidemiological model,” Escobar Morales explained.

“At the Club Noel Children’s Hospital, the emergency area has overcapacity in the emergency room with more than 256%,” he indicated.

Plaza Saldarriaga reiterated that health controls must be intensified and greater cooperation among citizens must be carried out to prevent the vector from reproducing due to improper storage of water.

“We are intensifying actions so that we contribute to this mitigation and this change in the trend of increasing cases,” he said.

Indicating that so far 247,758 inspections of drains have been carried out in the 22 communes of the city, more than 5,469 blocks and 258,353 properties have been reached with the application of ULV insecticide with heavy machinery on public roads, 7,905 homes have been visited to eliminate hatcheries, and an educational strategy has been implemented in the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón, Mojica, Alfonso López I, Terrón Colorado, El Poblado I, Siloé and Manuela Beltrán neighborhoods.

Faced with the crisis experienced at the Club Noel Children’s Hospital, the clinic authorities have implemented measures such as expanding capacity by 54%, adapting additional expansion areas to care for a maximum of 102 patients simultaneously.

In addition, the Secretary of Health has achieved, after a technical table, an agreement between Club Noel and ESE Oriente, from where nearly 40% of the patients who occupy the children’s hospital come from.

For this reason, three lines of work were established: de-escalation so that patients who are not highly complex can be treated at the ESE Oriente.

Added to this is the transportation of these patients from Club Noel, de-escalated towards low complexity, so that adequate means of transportation are provided from both institutions and there is no burden on the patient.

Just like a telecare process from Club Noel with Pediatrics, towards low complexity, to look at patients as a whole and so that they do not have to move to a higher level of care.

Escobar Morales urged all citizens to inspect homes and eliminate any exposed water deposits that exist in them, to avoid larvae.