“Central America is on track to have one of its worst years ever for the painful, sometimes fatal disease of dengue, prompting governments across the region to mobilize against the mosquito-borne virus,” the Associated Press reports in an article examining efforts by several countries. “There have been 120,000 suspected cases of dengue reported across Central America so far in the season, which is roughly June to November, when the rains make it optimal for mosquito breeding,” and “[a]t least 39 people have died so far, more than the 32 for all of 2012,” according to the AP. “Honduras and El Salvador have declared health emergencies to channel extra funds and efforts to prevent the spread of the disease,” the news agency writes, adding, “Other nations [such as Nicaragua] are also sending teams of workers across villages and cities to squirt bursts of insecticide at puddles and to lecture citizens against leaving standing water where mosquitoes can breed” (Corcoran, 8/9).