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Dengue Cases Down 52%
Compared to Last Year
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
With the rainy, mosquito-breeding season under way, dengue -- a mosquito-borne illness Costa Rica suffered an outbreak of last year (TT, Aug. 26, 2005) – is on health authorities' and Costa Ricans' minds.
So far this year, there have been 52% fewer cases of dengue reported than during the same period in 2005, according to Teresita Solano, Public Health Ministry Director of Epidemic Vigilance.
This decrease can be attributed to a reduction in the number of “Aedes Aegypti” mosquitoes, which is partly a result of citizens taking action to eliminate spaces where mosquitoes breed, Solano said.
“The fewer mosquitos there are, the fewer cases of dengue. The population has responded, and we've seen a decrease, but it's still not sufficient,” Solano said, adding that more citizens should listen to the ministry's warnings to get rid of standing water, where mosquitoes lay eggs, near their homes.
Between January and June of this year, there were 4,595 cases of dengue registered, 52% less than the 9,590 cases registered during the same period last year, according to the wire service ACAN-EFE. About 20,000 cases of dengue were reported in Costa Rica last year.
Those who have had dengue once are at risk for contracting it again in its potentially fatal, hemorrhagic form, and should be extra cautious, Solano said, adding that the rainiest part of the year is still to come. One person died of hemorrhagic dengue last year (TT, Aug. 26, 2005).
Dog Attack Case Presented
Before Human Rights Commission
The Nicaraguan government yesterday asked the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to accept complaints against Costa Rica of xenophobia and discrimination in connection with the death of a Nicaraguan citizen in Costa Rica.
Juan Antonio Tijerino, who represented Nicaragua before the commission, told journalists his government's goal is “for the commission to carry out the necessary steps to file a complaint against Costa Rica before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”
Nicaragua presented the case of Navidad Canda, who died after being attacked by a guard dogs at a warehouse in Costa Rica, before the commission on Nov. 10, 2005.
According to Tijerino, Canda, who was accused of entering the warehouse to rob it, “was attacked before the eyes of eight police officers, firefighters and owners of the warehouse,” who did nothing to stop the dogs from killing him.
Last December, Nicaragua also presented the commission with the case of José Ariel Urbina, who was lynched by a group of Costa Ricans.
Meanwhile, the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry yesterday asked the commission to declare the complaints “inadmissible” because the two countries have not exhausted options for resolving them.
The Costa Rican delegation was led by Goiconda Ubeda, who asked the commission to shelve the complaint.
“The Costa Rican state has not violated any international norms,” he said.
-ACAN-EFE
Citibank and Rainforest Alliance
Help Small and Medium Hotels
Owners of small and medium hotels in Costa Rica working toward sustainable tourism practices can count on Citibank Costa Rica for help, thanks to an alliance between the banking business and the nonprofit conservation organization Rainforest Alliance, according to a statement from the organization.
Citigroup's Foundation donated $150,000 to the Rainforest Alliance to help sustainable tourism projects around Central America.
In Panama and Guatemala, the funds will be used for forestation projects, while in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Ecuador they will go toward sustainable tourism efforts.
In Costa Rica, the donation will allow 740 employees of small and medium hotels to participate in workshops to learn sustainable tourism practices. It will also be used to diagnose the hotels' practices.
“We believe that the financial industry should provide environmentally responsible products and services, which ultimately translate to consumers,” said Citibank Costa Rica Manager Jorge Mora. “We're committing to finding tools to allow us to achieve this goal.”
Citibank has been in Costa Rica since 1968 providing corporate banking services.
-Tico Times
National Emergency Commission Maintains Green Alert
Rainy conditions around the country have led the National Emergency Commission (CNE) to declare a green, preventive alert for the central Pacific, Central Valley and Caribbean zones, according to a statement from the commission.
The National Meteorology Institute (IMN) predicts these conditions could continue for the next several days, the statement said.
Citizens should be watchful of water levels, especially those living near rivers, and should be cautious when crossing rivers and areas prone to mudslides.
-Tico Times
McConaughey Gets Down in C.R.
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Confirming his status as one of Star Watch’s most talked-about stars, actor Matthew McConaughey surfed, rafted, sang and danced his way through a Costa Rican vacation late last month. The curly-haired Texan told a reporter upon his arrival that he wanted privacy, but his exploits made headlines throughout his stay – first on the Caribbean coast near the beach town of Puerto Viejo, then during a river trip on the Pacuare (documented by a photographer from the daily La Nación), and then in Santa Teresa de Malpaís on the southern Nicoya Peninsula. Mending a broken heart after his breakup with Spanish actress Penelope Cruz? Not by the looks of things. Wendy Angulo, owner of the Mar Azul bar in Malpaís, said McConaughey dropped by June 30 at 9 p.m. and danced the night away until 2:30 or 3 a.m., taking to the dance floor with the friends traveling with him as well as women in the bar, more than happy to take People magazine’s 2005 Sexiest Man Alive for a spin.
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McConaughey |
• Sometimes celebrity news here is as much about who’s rumored to be in Costa Rica, but isn’t, as it is about who actually makes the scene. McConaughey was incorrectly rumored to be on vacation here in January, and the same appears to have happened last week with Australian Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. Though Radio Dos reported Kidman, married June 25 to country singer Keith Urban, was headed here for her honeymoon, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reports they spent their post-nuptial days at the St. Regis resort on Bora Bora.
Maybe the star of “The Hours” and “Moulin Rouge” didn’t fancy a run-in with President Oscar Arias, who has publicly declared his admiration for Kidman on various occasions. Local dailies didn’t hesitate to rib Arias on the actress’s marriage; Al Día’s headline read, “¡Se le fue al Presidente!” (roughly translated, “She got away from the President!”).
• Some stars of Costa Rica’s political scene were on display at a U.S. Embassy lunch July 3 to celebrate Independence Day. Second Vice-President Kevin Casas and Foreign Relations Minister Bruno Stagno were among the leaders, from Cabinet members to legislators, who shared a menu including Tex-Mex favorites – perhaps in honor of U.S. Ambassador Mark Langdale, who, like his friend and Commander in Chief, hails from Texas – along with red and white wine. Guests were subject to tight security, correspondent Amanda Roberson told Star Watch.
• The return of the National Soccer Team from the World Cup in Germany – empty-handed, except for two goals against host and eventual semifinalist Germany by star forward Paulo César Wanchope – brought some famous faces to Juan Santamaría International Airport June 21. Former Miss Costa Rica Nancy Soto waited for her boyfriend, Alvaro Saborío, though, according to Al Día, the star player walked right by her, perhaps because of the angry reception some disappointed fans gave the team (TT, June 23).
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