LIMA, Feb 24, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Peru on Thursday declared a "health emergency" in 13 departments in the country's north, center and southeast due to an outbreak of dengue.

The emergency would remain in place for 90 days, according to an official notice, after the health ministry recorded more than 11,500 cases and 16 deaths due to the disease so far in 2023.

This represented a "considerable increase" of 72 percent from the same period in 2022.

Last year, the country had more than 72,800 dengue cases and 84 deaths.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease that can provoke a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and sometimes death.

Earlier this month, neighbor Bolivia also declared a health alert with a cumulative number of more than 6,800 cases and 26 deaths.