On the occasion of the World Dengue Day (August 26), the Argentine Advertising Council, assessed by Mundo Sano Foundation and with the creative contribution of Independent Agencies (Ai), conducted a campaign to raise awareness about this disease and promote measures to avoid reproduction of the disease-transmitting mosquito.
According to the World Health Organization, one third of the world population is at risk of becoming infected with dengue. Each year, nearly 390 million cases occur in the world, of which 500 thousand are acute dengue cases, with about 25 thousand deaths. In Argentina, the summer-autumn 2019-2020 was the period with the highest number of cases and deaths in the history of the country.
For this reason, the Argentine Advertising Council, with the assessment of Mundo Sano Foundation and the creative contribution of Independent Agencies (Ai) developed a campaign based on the concept “Get the itch to prevent dengue”, with the aim of raising awareness of this disease, which equally affects the north and centre of our country, including an important part of Buenos Aires province and the entire AMBA (Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area), with consequences on the health of the affected people.
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti (it should be noted that it is not transmitted from person to person or through objects or breastfeeding). In turn, affected people, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, are the main carriers and multipliers of the virus.
Marcelo Abril, Executive Director of Mundo Sano, explained: “For many years, Dengue was regarded as a disease that developed only in tropical regions; however, in reality, the disease-transmitting mosquito is present in a great portion of the Argentine territory, and we can find active breeding sites in many places and during several months of the year”.
“We can say today that dengue is a problem present not only in the northern region of our country, but that it has expanded and established in the entire central sector, including the most populated provinces, such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe, as well as, surely, Buenos Aires city”, he stressed.
Aedes aegypti breeds in shallow containers where water accumulates. When Aedes aegypti mosquito females are present in those standing water bodies, generally clean water, they lay their eggs. For this reason, in order to prevent the dengue virus from spreading, it is essential to take measures, including environmental management and hygiene, and avoid water accumulation in those containers, such as pet water bowls, air conditioner drip trays, canvas pools with a little amount of water, improperly covered water tanks, clogged drains, flower vases, plant pot plates and tires, among others.
Mariano Pasik, President of the Argentine Advertising Council, said: “For the Argentine Advertising Council, it is very important to promote this initiative to reinforce the prevention messages, since dengue is an issue that requires the involvement of the whole society. We want to express our special gratitude to Independent Agencies for joining our project and to Mundo Sano for their technical support.”
For further information about this topic, visit: dengue.mundosano.org
