“The Honduran government declared a state of emergency Tuesday due to the spread of dengue fever, which has killed 16 people this year and infected more than 12,000, local media reported,” Xinhua writes (7/31). “Health Minister Salvador Pineda said Tuesday’s decree means the government is making it a priority to prevent and control the disease and fight the mosquitoes that spread it,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports, adding, “Pineda says more than half of Honduras’ municipalities have registered dengue fever cases” (7/30). “The authorities have been criticized for not doing enough to eliminate the breeding sites of the mosquitoes that transmit dengue,” Al Jazeera states. “The disease is present in all of Central America, and until last week had caused 26 deaths and infected nearly 40,000 more so far this year,” the news service writes (7/31).