Aedes aegypti mosquito
By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 24, 2025
Dengue is on the rise again, with three times the normal number of dengue cases having been treated at the national referral hospital, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), over the past weeks—the largest number coming from the Belize District. The Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported 160 cases in the Belize District up to the end of June this year, compared to 90 cases of dengue during the same period last year. Many of these patients have had to be admitted to the hospital.
The start of the rainy season usually means more breeding sites for dengue’s insect vector – the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and healthcare professionals have come to expect to see more dengue cases once the rains increase.
“When the rainy season starts, normal would be maybe 2 daily cases in the hospital setting diagnosed by doctors in the hospital,” explained KHMH emergency room doctor, Dr. Rigo Montejo.
He further explained, “Some cases are diagnosed in the clinic, and they get sent to us because they have some type of complication; or they have other conditions like diabetes or heart condition, and then that poses extra risk for them. Presently, we are seeing upwards of 6, 7, 8 cases per day, and that’s just my shift; that’s not the other shifts of the other doctors. As we speak right now we have in the emergency room hosted … because upstairs is over-full, the beds are full … we have hosted about five cases admitted in hospital right now.
“That’s not to mention the ones that are presently under investigation for dengue. Under investigation means you have symptoms, have signs, and we’re doing some labs for you while you’re waiting for your results. So, this has been going on for the last two or three weeks every day.”
Many of the more complicated cases in the hospital involve patients who are small children, elderly people, and those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, Montejo added. People who either have or are suspected of having dengue should avoid taking certain medications, which could worsen their symptoms, Montejo went on to advise.
People usually take Tylenol for the headache brought on by the fever. There are other types of pain relievers, however, which Montejo said should not be used by persons suffering with dengue. “Try not to drink Ibuprofen and Diclofenac if you think you might have dengue. Try not to take Diclofenac or Ibuprofen especially if you’re going to take that for 3 – 4 days. Tylenol [is] kind of similar to Diclofenac; people take it for fever and pain, but they’re different,” he said.
Dr. Montejo noted that Diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory medication, which can have unpleasant side effects on the stomach, for example. “A patient with a low blood platelet count who self-medicates with Diclofenac for 3 – 4 days, maybe taking it 3 – 4 four times per day, [it] may cause them to bleed from the stomach,” he said.
“The safest thing to do, stay away from aspirin. Stick to Tylenol. You can take Tylenol every 4 hours. You can go take a bath, bring down the fever,” Montejo advised. “Make sure you hydrate properly,” he said.
The Vector Control Unit of the Health Ministry continues to fumigate with malathion, but the Belizean public also have a duty to do their part to minimize breeding sites, by disposing of all empty containers which could serve as catchments for rain water—the breeding ground for millions of mosquitoes. The ministry also encourages communities to have clean-up campaigns and to spray mosquito-breeding sites.
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