13,000 crowd hospitals in Paraguay due to dengue

Via The China Post :

" ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Dengue fever is raging in Paraguay, with 13,000 patients crowding public hospitals and 18 deaths this year.

Deputy Health Minister Edgar Gimenez announced Wednesday that all elective surgeries are being suspended to free up beds, and that the public health system wants to hire 2,000 new doctors and nurses to help respond to the epidemic.

There is no vaccine for so-called bonebreak fever, which causes strong pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. With many patients getting treatment privately, more than 20,000 are thought to be infected overall, said Health Ministry official Ivan Allende."