Ministry of Health warning over dengue fever cases in Ibiza

The Ministry of Health has issued a warning after identifying cases of dengue fever in Ibiza, with two confirmed cases and the risk of further spreading.

Germany has warned Spain of two dengue fever outbreaks that originated in Ibiza and six further affected people with a history of travel to the island. There is one confirmed case and one probable case, in addition to four possible further cases. The Ministry of Health has warned of a moderate risk that will increase between the months of May and November.

The confirmed case of dengue fever is a woman, 27, who travelled to Ibiza in August 2022 with her partner and their 14-month-old daughter. The family began having symptoms on August 31, however, only the mother had tests. The dengue fever diagnosis was confirmed by the detection of specific IgM antibodies and viral antigens.

The probable case is a woman, 37, who travelled to the same town in Ibiza as the woman with confirmed dengue fever, along with her partner and their 9-year-old son in October 2022. They arrived on the island on October 6 and she started suffering symptoms on October 13. Her child experienced symptoms on October 13 and the father started suffering symptoms on the 15th. Only the woman sought help from health services and the diagnosis of dengue was made exclusively by detecting IgM antibodies, reports 20 Minutos.

Thanks to investigations into the positive cases, it has been found that the first infected person travelled from Mexico and stayed in the same area as the confirmed cases between August 11 and 31.

One of the carriers of dengue fever is the Aedes albopictus mosquito found throughout the Spanish Mediterranean area and the Balearic Islands and in some areas in the interior and north of the country. The first case was established in 2014 and, since then, has been considered to be established across the island, as reported by the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center (CCAES).

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