Peru on Thursday declared a “health emergency” in 13 departments in the north, central and southeast of the country due to an outbreak of dengue.
According to an official notice, the emergency will remain in place for 90 days in 2023 after recording over 11,500 cases and 16 deaths due to the disease so far.
This represented a “substantial increase” of 72 percent from the same period in 2022.
Last year, there were over 72,800 dengue cases and 84 deaths in the country.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease that can cause high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and sometimes death.
Earlier this month, neighboring Bolivia also declared a health alert, with a cumulative number of more than 6,800 cases and 26 deaths.