Is Dengue Fever or Malaria a concern in Panama?

From my experience of over 13 years living in Brazil, a country that has the most cases of Dengue in the Americas; the type of Dengue here in the Americas IS NOT THE SAME as the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever as found in Africa. While Dengue, if left untreated can kill you should not be excessively worried.

There is no effective vaccine for Dengue and really the only options are to prevent contracting it by avoiding contact with the mosquito. Use good insect repellents, wear long sleeved clothing and avoid exposing the skin. If it will grow where you live, plant citronela, lemon grass, etc. close to windows, eliminate all sources of standing water near your residence, don't use trays under plant pots, get rid of old tires, etc., or anything that might trap rainwater. If your residence relies on a waterbox on the roof for your water supply then make sure it is properly covered.

Regarding Malaria again their is no really effective kind of vaccination so avoiding the mosquito is also the best option. Doxycycline is one of the most commonly used Anti-Malarial drugs, however it is not recommended for pregnant women or children under 8 years of age.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3062442/ 

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Great feedback. I did not realize it was a different strain of dengue. Thank you.

a friend of mine living in coronado had internal bleeding caused from dengue and nearly passed away.
nobody talks about the "kissing bug" in fear of loosing tourists
check the link and do your own research
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and- … ease-in-us

There is really not a problem at all with malaria and a very small problem with dengue and that is pretty well confined to a few areas in the city.

ssaurina wrote:

Do we need to be concerned about malaria or dengue fever in Panama? I have young children. Thanks!

Absolutely yes.  http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php … 0616243927

Deaths have occurred:

[Excerpt from January 2014 article]

Despite efforts by the Panama Ministry of Health (MOH) to control dengue fever, Health Minister Javier Diaz said, “We're having a dengue epidemic", according to a Latin American Herald Tribune report Jan. 2. 

* * *

"It is important to inform the public that although Panama has fewer dengue cases than other countries in the region are in epidemic area as is the entire American continent," noted the head of the Panamanian Public Health.

Diaz notes that in 2013, Panama reported 3,124 dengue cases. This is up more than three times from the 899 cases reported in 2012.

Panama has reported nine fatalities due to dengue hemorrhagic fever this year.

Diaz warned that the proliferation of mosquitoes has been concentrated in the city, especially in the metropolitan area. He also added that there are cases of dengue expected during the year, but with the increased rainfall have tripled cases.

Finally, Diaz asked the ministers of churches, municipalities, the Corregidurías, churches, NGOs, private companies, public institutions to join the MOH Contingency Plan to combat dengue. "We have achieved a 65% support of the forces of the country, but we require a 100% to prevent more cases of dengue."