The Institute of the Administration of Health and Social Affairs (IASAUDE), based on Madeira island, has confirmed 62 dengue fever cases on the region, with 6 patients currently hospitalize in the Hospital of Funchal.

There were 52 cases of dengue in Madeira confirmed last week, with five patients in hospital, according to  IASAUDE , compared with 37 confirmed cases a week earlier, with six patients in hospital.

In a statement last week, IASAUDE has said there were over 400 cases of probable infection with the virus in the archipelago and that a cumulative total of 40 patients have been taken to hospital with symptoms in recent weeks.

The institute is calling for the public to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, by eliminating conditions that favor the breeding of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito its main carrier.

The species was identified in Madeira in 2005, but the first cases of the virus were only confirmed in early October.

Potentially deadly, dengue  fever cannot be passed from person to person. Infection occurs only after being bitten by the mosquito carrying the virus. Symptoms range from a mild fever to a more serious illness, including a rash and bone pain. Severe complications, such as liver failure and dangerously low blood pressure, may occur in a minority of cases.

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