At least 14 people have died from dengue fever in Argentina this year, the Health Ministry reported on Friday. 

The deaths come as the country experiences its second-worst outbreak since the disease  re-emerged in the country in 1998 after being eradicated in the 1960s.

There have been 28,235 confirmed cases of the disease in 13 provinces and Buenos Aires City since the start of 2023. That figure has jumped by more than a quarter – 27.7% – since last week.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that have fed on infected blood. The most common symptom is a fever, and patients may also experience pain behind the eyes, headache, muscle and joint pain, spots on the skin, itching, and nose and gum bleeding.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito also carries other diseases, such as yellow fever, chikungunya and zika. The Health Ministry has also reported 915 Chikungunya cases in the country this year.

Of the dengue patients, the vast majority – 25,419 – contracted the disease in Argentina.

“The mosquito is absolutely native,” Dr. Hugo Pizzi, infectologist and member of the Córdoba National University’s Centre of Tropical Diseases, recently told the Herald.

According to Pizzi, increased temperatures in the country due to climate change contributed to this new outbreak. “Global warming has ‘tropicalized’ and changed the continental and marine climate,” he said.

Given that, Pizzi said that cases are only going to go up and called for the government to urgently conduct a male mosquito sterilization campaign.

The disease is circulating in Buenos Aires province, Buenos Aires City, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Santa Fe, Corrientes, Formosa, Chaco, Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán.

Argentina’s central region has the most dengue cases, with 7,066 in Santa Fe province alone. Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires province follow suit, with 3,313 and 2,381 cases respectively.

The second most affected area is the North-West, with Tucumán leading that area’s list with 4,923 cases.

The people who died from the disease were aged between 13 and 87. The deaths were registered in Salta (4), Santa Fe (4), Tucumán (3), Buenos Aires province (1), Santiago del Estero (1), and Jujuy (1).

The Health Ministry recommended seeing a doctor and avoiding self-medication if any of the symptoms appear. The government also recommends emptying any containers that could hold stagnant water for a long time, such as old car tyres and plant pots, since this is where mosquitoes tend to lay their eggs. They also recommend installing insect screens and using mosquito repellents.