Mother and son die of dengue in Lambayeque as outbreak death toll reaches 11

A mother and her 20-year-old son died of severe dengue in Lambayeque during the same week, bringing the northern Peruvian region's death toll from the disease to 11 this year.

Both victims came from Lagunas-Mocupe and initially chose to self-medicate instead of seeking medical care. They reached hospitals in Chiclayo in serious condition, according to Rubén Eneque Namuche, coordinator for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases at the Lambayeque Regional Health Management office.

The son was transferred to the Almanzor Aguinaga hospital, run by EsSalud, with severe dengue. Peru's National Institute of Health later confirmed that he also had leptospirosis, an infection that can spread through contact with water or soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals. The mother was treated for severe dengue at Las Mercedes hospital, operated by the Health Ministry. Laboratory results are still pending to determine whether she also had leptospirosis.

Lagunas-Mocupe has recorded 159 dengue cases. Lambayeque has registered 3,676 confirmed cases since January, and most of the region's other nine dengue deaths involved adults from areas with significant outbreaks. A Lambayeque resident who contracted the disease in Rioja, in the San Martín region, is also included in the regional total.

Health authorities urged residents to let health brigades enter their homes to identify and remove containers where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can breed. They also called for cooperation with fumigation efforts in outbreak areas and stressed that families must eliminate potential breeding sites inside and around their homes.

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Both had initially decided not to go to a health center and chose to self-medicate. When they arrived at the hospitals in Chiclayo, they already had severe cases.