By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received today via comments: "We live on the 14th floor. In looking out the window at the near by shorter buildings, I see pools of rain water sitting on the roofs. I am sure this is a good breeding place for these insects! Myrna" Absolutely. Any pool of standing clean standing fresh water can be used as a breeding site for mosquitoes. And again, take matters into your own hands. If there are pools of water on the adjacent buildings, chances are there's one on your building as well. Talk to your building administrator, and have them talk to the administrators of the other buildings in the neighborhood. Good call... There was another raft of news reports over the weekend about dengue and spraying operations all over the place. Now is a great time to bring this issue to the attention of your building managers, so strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.    

By Yaritza Gricel Mojica for the Panama America - 50% of the recorded cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever in Panama have resulted in death, according to the latest report by the Ministry of Health (MINSA). Of a total of eight people reported to have been infected with dengue hemorrhagic fever as of yesterday by the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health, four have died: two in the province of Chiriqui, one in the Western part of the province of Panama, and one in Panama City. The last Panamanian who died from dengue hemorrhagic fever was 69 year old Augusto Bal, who was a professor and specialist in gynecology. MINSA Director of Epidemiology Dr. Gladys Guerrero said the physician was admitted to the San Fernando Hospital last Wednesday "with a suspected case of dengue hemorrhagic fever that evolved quickly." The doctor lived in Bethania, in the neighborhood of Villa Caceres, one of the areas with the highest rate of dengue infestation with 11% of the total cases, followed by Pueblo Nuevo with 11%, Juan Diaz with 8%, and Ancon with 7.4%. The most recent epidemiological report revealed there have been at total of 1,202 cases of dengue fever, of those 1,185 have been classic dengue, eight confirmed cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever, another five with hemorrhagic manifestations, and a total of four deaths.

Panamanians in danger - Panama's Health Minister Franklin Vergara, warned that "for every 100 Panamanians, eighteen might die due to dengue hemorrhagic fever unless corrective actions are taken to eliminate the mosquito that transmits the disease."

Health officials ordered the Vector Control Inspectors, who remain in the streets fighting against mosquito breeding areas, to issue tickets starting at $100 and up to $1,000 to those who refuse to clean up the areas around their homes and businesses, as well as the closure of establishments with breeding areas who fail to comply. Previously, the Director of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, Nestor Sosa, warned that the more than 1,185 people who have already been infected with dengue have a greater change of becoming infected with one of the other three types of dengue that are circulating in the country. Reports received by the Panama America indicate that in some of the schools in the Western part of the province of Panama, such as the Stella Sierra school in Arraiján, there have been high absentee rates of as much as five students per classroom, all suspected to be caused by dengue.

Editor's Comment: This dengue threat is real and growing quickly. All over the Panamanian news I hear and see stories about dengue every day. This started about two weeks ago and has peaked quickly. Take every precaution to clean around your home or business. Look for any little area where rainwater can accumulate and eliminate them. Some things to look for are for example the plates that some people put under potted plants - if they don't have a drainage hole then the water can accumulate there and give the mosquitoes a place to reproduce. Another area is often times there might be a leak under the "s" drain in an outdoor sink and people will put a little bucket under there to catch the drips, creating a breeding site. Hey, this is one of those times where doing a little cleanup is a totally selfish act - the mosquitoes breeding in your backyard are most likely to bite you. And you might want to offer to help your neighbors to clean up as well - these mosquitoes have a relatively short range. Also, bats and geckos are your friends because they eat bugs. Anyway, take this threat seriously. Repair your screens and wear repellent, especially if you're going to be outside at dawn or dusk. A 50% mortality rate is nothing to be played with. The Panamanian government is on a full-court press to get the word out. Please forward this article to everyone you know who lives in Panama. Thanks.   

DIAaDIA - A gynecologist became the fifth victim of Dengue hemorrhagic fever in Panama. According to a source from the Gorgas Memorial Institute, the doctor passed away on Friday morning, several days after being hospitalized in a private hospital in Panama City. As of this week in Panama there have been 1,185 confirmed cases of classic dengue, seven confirmed cases of the more dangerous and lethal Dengue hemorrhagic fever, and another five cases with hemorrhagic manifestations.    Click Here To Read The Full Article (224 words)

By Kathyria Caicedo for Telemetro Reporta - A 45 year old woman became the eleventh victim of the H1N1 influenza A virus. The death occurred in the province of Chiriqui where the woman lived, specifically in the sector of Bugabita, according to the Ministry of Health of Panama. According to reports, the woman presented several symptoms and also suffered from obesity, which is one of the risk factors of the influenza A H1N1 virus. As of the most recent report there have been a total of 761 confirmed cases in Panama, and of those 700 have recovered and have returned to their normal daily routines. On the same subject, the National Economic Council (CENA) approved a credit of $4 million dollars to benefit the Ministry of Health. This money should be invested in preventing this virus in Ngöbe Bugle area, where several cases have already occurred, including the death of an infant.   

La Prensa - A man from the province of Chiriqui died in mid September due to the H1N1 influenza, Panama's health authorities released today. Dr, Gladys Guerrero, the Chief of Epidemiology of Panama's Ministry of Health reported the man had been receiving medical treatment at the Rafael Hernandez hospital. She said they just received the test results confirming the cause of death of this patient yesterday. This new case brings the total number of people who have died in Panama due to the H1N1 influenza virus to eleven. The World Health Organization estimates at least 3,500 people have been killed by H1N1 worldwide thus far, as reported by international news agencies today.   

By Yaritza Gricel Mojica for the Panama America - Infectious disease specialist and researcher, Dr. Xavier Sáez-Llorens, said Panama could be experiencing the "preamble" of a potentially "severe and deadly" epidemic hemorrhagic dengue. His warning is based on the fact that in Panama on average there have been five cases of dengue recorded per day, during the first 36 weeks of this year. So far this year there have been 1,193 cases of dengue reported in Panama, a total which includes several cases of the hemorrhagic version of the disease, which worries Sáez-Llorens. The Department of Epidemiology of Panama's Ministry of Health reported a total of 1,193 total cases, of those 1,185 are classic dengue and another eight cases of hemorrhagic dengue. The situation becomes worrisome, because that's another 1,185 Panamanians who have already had dengue fever, and who are at risk of developing the more severe hemorrhagic version of the disease if they are bitten again by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Sáez-Llorens said this year they have diagnosed more cases of dengue than in 2008, most of them in the past four weeks. Throughout last year, the Department of the Ministry of Health Vector Control reported a total of 1.562 cases between classic and hemorrhagic dengue. According to Saez-Llorens, the numbers of cases of dengue in Panama has been increasing in the past 10 years due to the levels of infestation of the mosquito vector that has exceeded permissible levels in several areas of the country. The National Director of the Office of Vector Control of the Ministry of Health, Oscar Gonzalez, said they are intensifying spraying operations in the metropolitan area of Panama City, the Western part of the Province of Panama, and in Chiriqui, where most of the reported cases of dengue have been recorded. The Office of Vector Control has eight specialized vehicles of spraying equipment that will be working this week in Juan Díaz, Betania, Parque Lefevre, La Mitra, Guadalupe, and El Coco, among other places, to try to control the situation. Gonzalez asked local authorities to punish the owners of vacant lots that create potential breeding sites of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Panama's Health Minister Franklin Vergara said yesterday fines for those creating dengue breeding sites are $100 for the first offense and $1,000 for repeat offenders.   

TVN Noticias - Authorities in the area of Bethania remain on alert due to the increase in dengue cases in the community, and therefore they met to take action against the proliferation of mosquitoes. In the coming days there will be a massive fumigation and spraying in the area of Bethania, while authorities are pleading with residents to be aware and keep their homes and the surrounding areas free of breeding locations for the Aedes aegypti mosquito. In Bethania to date there have been 45 confirmed cases of dengue fever, once case of hemorrhagic dengue, and an additional 23 cases of suspected dengue. Just yesterday health officials announced Panama could be on the verge of a dengue epidemic, in that from 1993 to date nearly 50% of the population has fallen ill from dengue. So far this year there have been 1,189 cases of dengue and four cases of hemorrhagic dengue, with the greatest numbers of cases being reported in the Panama City metro area, Chiriqui, San Miguelito, and the Western parts of the province of Panama.   

DIAADIA - Health Ministry officials on Saturday held a day of spraying in the Presidency of the Republic and in the district of San Felipe, after having learned that a person was hospitalized in a private hospital with symptoms of Dengue fever. Health authorities have reported that the Gorgas Memorial Institute is conducting scientific testing to corroborate or refute the clinical diagnosis of the patient. (Editor's Comment: Whoops! If they ordered the fumigation of the Presidency, and someone has been hospitalized in a "private clinic" then it's quite possible the patient worked at the presidency or somewhere nearby. I wonder if there's any kind of a connection between the increased numbers of dengue fever cases and the continuing and strengthening El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) condition we are currently experiencing. I mean, if there's been more rain than normal, that could mean more mosquitoes, and more mosquitoes could mean more dengue, right? I wonder what those really smart scientists and doctors have to say about that possibility. It's just a wild ass'd guess (WAG) on my part. Anyway, if you're going to go out into the hinterlands of - the Presidency - don't forget your bug spray. I don't buy this dengue stuff - I think they're just spraying to get rid of the PRD "cooties".)   Click Here To Read The Full Article (1 words)

By Grisel Bethancourt for La Critica - Since 2008 the Ministry of Health was aware of the list of 1,115 people who were prescribed medicines from the Office of Social Security tainted with the highly toxic diethylene glycol, and these authorities should have followed up on who might have been affected by the poisoning. This knowledge is reflected in a letter sent by the then Health Minister Rosario Turner to the Special Superior Prosecutor Dimas Guevara on 5 May 2008, in Note No. 475. "There is an obligation on our part to make known and available to health authorities the information that we have processed the names of the people who used these drugs contaminated with the toxic diethylene glycol, in order to determine the health status of every one of them," said the letter sent by Turner, to which La Critica had access. Guevara wrote it was necessary to submit the information on a compact disc, which contained a copy of the database built with the information from approximately 6,000 bottles of drugs recovered containing Sugar-Free Expectorant from Lot Number 45-3-04, and Calamine Lotion from Lot Number 34-12-03, produced by the Laboratory of Drug Production of the Office of Social Security, that are under investigation for the mass poisoning. At the same time, each label on the package contains the name of the person to whom the medicine was prescribed, the type of medication, the lot number investigated, the doctor who prescribed the medicine, and the office or clinic that dispensed the medicine, in order to monitor the health condition of all of these people who might have ingested any of the medications contaminated with the toxic diethylene glycol. The Special Senior Prosecutor, in responding to the lack of a response from the Ministry of Health, once again reiterated the request described above on 18 July 2008, through note number 790. Later the letter was answered by the Ministry of Health, who forwarded the request to authorities of the Office of Social Security, who said they needed the Attorney General to provide the identity card (cedula) number and social security number of the persons who had been prescribed the medication by the Social Security Offices nationwide, said one source. For his part, the Secretary General of the Attorney General's Office said the list of 1,115 persons had never been hidden, because the prosecution sent to the authorities of the former administration of the Health Ministry the request to contact those who were affected to verify whether they had consumed the contaminated products and whether it had affected them, because they had the results of the toxicological tests conducted by the Institute of Legal Medicine. (See Comments)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (307 words)

By JUAN ZAMORANO (AP) – PANAMA CITY — The death toll from contaminated medicine sold three years ago in Panama could be higher than previously believed after 1,155 bottles of tested positive for a chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid, investigators said Thursday. Authorities are trying to track down the names that appear on the bottles that tested positive for diethylene glycol to see if any of the users of the medication died, possibly raising the official count of 116 fatalities. "At the moment, we have no knowledge of these 1,155 people," Guevara said. "We don't know if any of them died, we don't know if any were affected." The 1,155 bottles are among 6,774 handed over to authorities after people were sickened in 2006 from poisonous cough syrup, antihistamine tablets, calamine lotion and rash ointment made at a government laboratory. Prosecutor Dimas Guevara said test results were pending for thousands more bottles. Relatives of the victims have long questioned the official estimates of how many people were sickened by the chemical, which was allegedly made by two Chinese companies that sold it to a Spanish firm saying it was 99.5 percent pure glycerin, a sweetener and thickening agent commonly used in drugs. The Spanish company then allegedly sold it to a company in Panama, which in turn sold it to the government lab. A director of the Panamanian company, Medicom, has been detained for a year pending the investigation. Another dozen people are also under investigation. The Committee of Families for the Right to Health and Life, which represents relatives of other victims, has always said more than 1,000 people have been affected, said Gabriel Pascual, the leader of the group.