A total of 24 people have died from dengue fever in the Dominican Republic so far this year and authorities are making efforts to control the spread of the disease, the government told EFE news wire Monday. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez told journalists that so far in 2006, 2,265 dengue cases had been registered.

The Dominican Health Ministry on Saturday launched a program in the capital to fumigate against the mosquito that transmits dengue fever.

The campaign also includes the elimination of waste and trash where the mosquito can live and breed, as well as the distribution of educational brochures.

Rojas Gomez met on Monday with the mayors of the capital area and the surrounding province of Santo Domingo, with whom he agreed to develop joint programs to fight the disease.

“There is no doubt that with the actions we will take ... there will be a significant reduction in cases of dengue and other diseases that result from the accumulation of trash,” he said.

At the beginning of last week, Rojas Gomez had said that at least 17 people, most of them children, had died from dengue so far in 2006.

However, he said that several of those deaths were caused by “bad management” of the cases on the part of the doctors that treated the patients.

Dengue is a serious viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that is characterized by high fever, intense headaches, muscle pain, gastro-intestinal problems and rashes.
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