Argentina has faced a record outbreak of dengue fever, which has killed more than 40 people and infected more than 60,000 people, mostly in the north-west of the country, News.ro reported with reference to the BBC.

The infection is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and the last major outbreak to hit Argentina was in 2020.

However, the Ministry of Health says that the number of dengue cases has started to rise.

Biologists irradiate thousands of male mosquitoes in laboratories for later release in the hope that their offspring will be non-viable due to DNA damage.

“This mosquito, in connection with the increase in temperature in our country and in the world… is able to spread more. Their population continues to move further south,” said biologist Marianela García Alba, quoted by the Reuters news agency.

The goal is to make mosquitoes exposed to radiation the dominant type to reduce the spread of dengue, she added.

The northwestern provinces of Salta, Tucuman and Jujuy, near Argentina’s borders with Chile and Bolivia, have recorded the highest number of deaths.

Symptoms of dengue include fever, headache, nausea and muscle aches.

The Ministry of Health urged people to increase mosquito control measures, including mosquito nets on doors and windows, the use of insecticides and the removal of any water containers that could serve as breeding grounds.