BUENOS AIRES, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's government on Tuesday blamed a record outbreak of dengue fever on "lack of prevention last year," and confirmed the country's strategy will be to combat the disease-carrying mosquito instead of resorting to a vaccine.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement it has worked with each province since December to carry out "permanent epidemiological monitoring" based on the belief that "eliminating the mosquito in the territory is the first line of defense" to stop dengue.
"This is a task that must be continuously carried out, not just due to the current situation, but anticipating the next season to arrive with a smaller mosquito population," it said.
Regarding immunization, the ministry said that last April the country approved the safety of a dengue vaccine "but since then neither the previous government, nor the infectious disease specialists, nor the international organizations reached a consensus for recommending it as a strategy to be included in the national vaccination calendar."
Argentina has registered 163,419 confirmed cases of dengue as of March 31, an outbreak marked by persistent and accelerated infections, according to a report released by the ministry. ■
