With the arrival of the first rainfall of the season, the department of Córdoba has experienced a worrying increase in reported cases of dengue and malaria.
According to the latest epidemiological bulletin of the National Institute of Health (INS), until epidemiological week 21 of 2024, 1,864 cases of dengue and 6,481 cases of malaria were registered in the region, positioning Córdoba as the department with the highest incidence of these transmitted diseases. by mosquitoes so far this year.
The municipalities most affected by this phenomenon are Tierralta, Puerto Libertador and Montelíbano, where unusual behavior has been observed in the spread of these pathologies.
Tierralta leads the malaria statistics with 3,569 documented cases and an incidence rate of 35.76 cases per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Puerto Libertador, which presents 1,501 cases and a rate of 33.05 per 1,000 inhabitants.
Experts in tropical diseases attribute this increase to the climatic conditions conducive to the reproduction of transmitting mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti in the case of dengue and Anopheles in the case of malaria.
The accumulation of water generated by rain favors the proliferation of these insect vectors.which in turn increases the risk of transmission of these diseases.
Faced with this situation, the Government of Córdoba, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health, has implemented various strategies to combat the spread of these pathologies. One of them is the training of Volunteer Collaborators (CoVol) in the diagnosis and treatment of malaria in dispersed rural areas, with the aim of reducing the number of cases and guaranteeing timely care for affected patients.
In addition, resources have been allocated by the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization and the International Bank to strengthen these prevention and control programs.
