7,585 people received at least 4 days of disability leave per year due to zika, dengue or chikungunya.
Data from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) showed that more than 140 million colones were paid in more than 10,000 medical leaves granted to these patients, although not all of them were disabled.
The Ministry of Health indicated that until October 19th, there were reported more than 24,000 positive cases of the 3 diseases.
Dengue was the cause of most medical leaves from January to September. According to Fund, 18,000 patients had the virus and more than 6,466 people required leaves.
The data show a downward trend of positive cases in the 3 diseases, but authorities have insisted that it is not the right time to lower the guard, specially during the rainy season.
The three diseases are spread by the bite of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes and they have very painful symptoms, but they could lso bring severe consequences, such as microcephaly and Guillain Barré syndrome, which is related to Zika.