Health authorities in Argentina are attempting to control the propagation of the dengue-transmitting mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, in the northern provinces of Formosa, Misiones, Jujuy and Salta, where conditions are ripe for an epidemic of the tropical disease. Salta is already under “epidemiological alarm” for the diagnosis of 21 cases in San Martín, bordering the city of San José de Pocitos, Bolivia, where more than 500 people have contracted dengue.

Northern Argentina is the area of the country at greatest risk due to its proximity to Brazil, where a national epidemic has already caused more than 30 deaths from the disease.