Daily Edition: San Jos้, Costa Rica, August 31, 2005
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Researchers Study Possible
Dengue Prevention Method
A team of Costa Rican researchers could be on its way to uncovering an effective, environmentally friendly method to exterminate the deadly aedes aegypti or dengue mosquito before it even crawls out of its cocoon.
(Click for more)
Pacheco: Still No Solution
to
San Juan River Conflict
Despite a three-year deadline approaching next month, no resolution has been found in the dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua about the San Juan River, which lies between the neighboring countries, President Abel Pacheco admitted yesterday at the press conference following his weekly Cabinet meeting.
(Click for more)
Costa Ricans Grapple
With Hurricane Katrina
Concerned about the mounting death toll in the path of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, and the tens of thousands of people displaced by floods and winds, including tornadoes, many Costa Ricans fear for the lives of their family members and friends who are in the afflicted areas.
(Click for more)
August 31
Roundtable on Tales from
San Ramón Townspeople
Tonight at 6 p.m., at José Figueres Ferrer Cultural Center, San Ramón, Alajuela. Info: 447-2178.
San Ramón Fiestas
Rides, concerts, contests, exhibits, through Aug. 31, Alajuela.
Last Live Performance from the Soap Opera Flora
Performed by Cesar Meléndez and Cristina Bruno, at 9 p.m., at Tokú, San Rafael, Escazú. Info: 228-4091.
Edited By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Researchers Study Possible
Dengue Prevention Method
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
A team of Costa Rican researchers could be on its way to uncovering an effective, environmentally friendly method to exterminate the deadly aedes aegypti or dengue mosquito before it even crawls out of its cocoon.
Researchers from the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio), which manages INBioParque in Heredia, northwest of San José, plan to undertake a scientific project called Aedes Aegypti : Its Biological and Chemical Control, studying two micromushrooms that have eliminated dengue mosquito larvae in laboratory tests, according to INBio researcher Jorge Blanco.
Blanco explained that 96.7% of larvae placed in isolation with one type of mushroom and 73.3% of larvae isolated with the other were successfully exterminated.
The investigation aims to evaluate the mushrooms' larvae-eliminating action and determine which element in the mushrooms causes this reaction, he said. Once researchers come to a conclusion, the investigation will advance to a second phase, studying how these mushrooms affect other aquatic organisms in an effort to prevent any negative effects on other organisms.
The investigation, whose first phase is expected to span one year, will be funded with a $27 thousand donation from Pfizer Scientific Institute, an organization created to finance nonprofit health-related investigation projects.
According to Public Health Minister Rocío Sáenz, the project might add to Costa Rica 's strategies for dengue prevention.
I hope we can speak of results that might reach beyond just Costa Rica, she told journalists yesterday during a press conference at INBioParque.
Sáenz said dengue, a viral disease transmitted by infected female aedes aegypti mosquitoes, is a tropical disease that erupts from the combination of three factors: temperature, humidity, and population.
Ana Lorena Guevara, head of the INBio unit in charge of the investigation, said that in 1980, there were 60,000 reported cases of dengue in Latin America, while in 2000, the number grew to 700,000.
Brazil accounts for 70% of all classic dengue cases and 90% of all hemorrhagic dengue cases in Latin America, Sáenz explained.
Costa Rica has been plagued by more than 15,000 reported cases of dengue fever since January (TT, Aug. 26).
Pacheco: Still No Solution to
San Juan River Conflict
Despite a three-year deadline approaching next month, no resolution has been found in the dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua about the San Juan River, which lies between the neighboring countries, President Abel Pacheco admitted yesterday at the press conference following his weekly Cabinet meeting.
Pacheco said the foreign ministries of both countries have been in contact, but no solution has been reached. He said that seeking international arbitration is a possibility.
On Sept. 26, 2002, the disputing parties gave themselves three years to come to a solution to their disagreement, which is based on Nicaragua 's objection to armed Costa Rican police officers navigating the river. Nicaragua has sovereignty over the river, but Costa Rica argues it has the right to navigation.
Pacheco said he is confident the parties will find a resolution. As the brother countries that we are, we can both concede a little, he said.
Costa Ricans Grapple
With Hurricane Katrina
Concerned about the mounting death toll in the path of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, and the tens of thousands of people displaced by floods and winds, including tornadoes, many Costa Ricans fear for the lives of their family members and friends who are in the afflicted areas.
Newswires report the death toll could be in the hundreds, and 40,000 people are in Red Cross shelters.
The General Consulate of Costa Rica in New Orleans reported that of the 4,000 Costa Ricans in the six states under its jurisdiction, 1,500 to 2,000 live in the disaster zones. While New Orleans was evacuated, the consulate maintained contact with those Costa Ricans that informed it of their movements, but to date, there is no official information about those who may have been affected. Disrupted phone service in New Orleans, which flooded after two levees cracked, has impeded the Foreign Ministry's information search, but service is expected to be restored within days.
The Consulate has dedicated the phone number 001 (504) 638-1095 and e-mail address consulcrno@hotmail.com to questions about Costa Rican family members living in the area. Those interested should be prepared to give the complete name, date of birth and, if possible, place of residence of those they want to locate.
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