Along with the coronavirus that is keeping residents at home, the Yucatan Health Secretariat (SSY) calls on the public to remain on guard against flu and vector-borne diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya.
Normally this time of year, the state prepares for the mosquitos that come with the summer’s rainy season. Those preparations will continue in 2020.
The SSY’s deputy director of public health, Carlos Isaac Hernández Fuentes, reported administering 519,613 doses of flu vaccine so far, 93% of the total goal.
Health authorities are targeting high-risk groups such as infants from six to 59 months, as well as older adults, pregnant women and health sector personnel.
Jorge Alfredo Palacio Vargas, who is in charge of the SSY State Vector Program, reminded the public that although the weather has been dry for weeks, once the rains return, mosquitos can breed in puddling, stagnant water. Rainy season begins here in June and lasts into October.
The SSY has sprayed 22,957 hectares of land and the interiors of 2,247 homes. Staff have also established larval control points in 117,193 homes to combat the growth of the mosquito population.
To eliminate situations where rain water can accumulate, bulk garbage such as old tires and furniture was removed in municipalities such as Cuzamá, where seven tons have been collected; in Kantunil, 30; in Temax, four; in Ucú, 16; in Valladolid, 54; in Tizimín, 84; in Uayma, 16; in Santa María, four, and in Kuxeb, Chemax, two.
Two tons of bulk trash were collected in the community of Santa Cruz; in Peto, two, and in Tekax, three.
