From October to this date, five people have died in the North of the country, victims of respiratory diseases. Currently, there are 20 people hospitalized for this reason.
However, the authorities report that there is no outbreak, and that these diseases are common around this time of the year. Contrary to sectors of the Central Valley, the rains continue strong in the area.
Melvin Anchía, a nurse from the Regional Office of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) in the area, commented that the deceased patients had other risks that usually complicate the situation, such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
All hospitalized patients have risk factors. Eighteen of them are stable and there are two whose conditions are reserved. According to the official, they are carrying out checks to verify if these people were vaccinated, between April and May, like they had to.
The viruses that are currently circulating are the AH1N1 and the AN3N2.
The official said that the cases in San Carlos Hospital do not surpass the capacity of the medical center.
In addition, she urged the population to take the basic precautionary measures to avoid the diseases:
– Frequent hand-washing with soap and water.
-The application of the sneezing and coughing protocol, which implies covering the mouth and nose with a tissue or with the inner part of the elbow, to avoid the dispersion of contaminated water droplets.
-Avoiding multitudes and sudden temperature changes.