If you are planning to spend school vacation in the Pacific, be careful: zika, dengue fever and chikungunya are attacking that part of Costa Rica.
The Ministry of Health is asking parents to take measures, specially if they are going on a family vacation to Jacó and Parrita, were cases have increased the most.
Rodrigo Marín, Programa Nacional de Vectores national coordinator, stated that the Ministry is not asking people to avoid the Pacific, but he reminded the importance of using mosquito repellent, wearing long-sleeve t-shirts at nights, and fumigating. He suggested that people observe the area they will stay in to check there are not breeding grounds for mosquitos.
However, Marín highly recommended pregnant women to avoid visiting the place due to the risk for babies to suffer from microcephaly, a disease caused by zika.
On the other hand, the coordinator assured that Guanacaste and Limón are safe since reported cases of these diseases are occasional.
In just one week, the Ministry of Health reported 612 new cases of Costa Rican victims of Aedes aegypti mosquito.