Mientras miles de panameños enfrentan síntomas similares a los de un resfriado común en plena temporada lluviosa, las cifras oficiales muestran que el dengue continúa avanzando en el país y lo hace con señales que preocupan a las autoridades sanitarias: más casos, más hospitalizaciones, más pacientes graves y más muertes.

El más reciente informe epidemiológico del Ministerio de Salud revela que hasta la semana epidemiológica 19, correspondiente del 10 al 16 de mayo, Panamá acumulaba 2,581 casos de dengue, 113 más que los reportados una semana antes, cuando el país registraba 2,468 contagios. Pero el aumento no se limita únicamente al número de enfermos.

Los casos con signos de alarma pasaron de 291 a 311 en apenas una semana, mientras que los casos de dengue grave aumentaron de 15 a 17. Las hospitalizaciones también crecieron de 307 a 328 pacientes y las defunciones subieron de siete a ocho. La tasa nacional de incidencia pasó de 52.3 a 54.7 casos por cada 100 mil habitantes, reflejando una expansión sostenida de la enfermedad en distintas regiones del país.

La Región Metropolitana continúa siendo la más afectada con 680 casos acumulados, seguida por Colón con 462 y Bocas del Toro con 265. Entre los corregimientos con mayor cantidad de contagios figuran Tocumen, Puerto Pilón, Veracruz, 24 de Diciembre, Belisario Frías y Las Garzas. Los adolescentes de entre 10 y 14 años siguen siendo el grupo más impactado, con una tasa de incidencia de 78 casos por cada 100 mil habitantes.

Uno de los principales desafíos para las autoridades es que los primeros síntomas del dengue suelen confundirse con los de un resfriado, una gripe o incluso otras infecciones virales.

Sin embargo, existen diferencias importantes. Mientras los resfriados suelen provocar congestión nasal, estornudos y dolor de garganta, el dengue se caracteriza por una fiebre alta repentina, dolor intenso de cabeza, dolor detrás de los ojos, dolores musculares y articulares severos, cansancio extremo y malestar general.

Precisamente por esos dolores musculares y articulares intensos, la enfermedad es conocida popularmente como la “fiebre quebrantahuesos”. Algunos pacientes también pueden presentar náuseas, vómitos y erupciones en la piel varios días después del inicio de los síntomas.

Los especialistas advierten que el mayor riesgo aparece cuando la fiebre comienza a desaparecer. Contrario a lo que muchas personas creen, la reducción de la temperatura no siempre significa mejoría. Es en ese momento cuando algunos pacientes desarrollan signos de alarma que pueden anticipar un cuadro grave.

Entre las señales que requieren atención médica inmediata figuran el dolor abdominal intenso y persistente, vómitos continuos, sangrado de encías o nariz, presencia de sangre en heces o vómitos, dificultad para respirar, somnolencia excesiva, irritabilidad o una sensación marcada de debilidad.

Cuando estos síntomas aparecen, el paciente puede requerir hospitalización para recibir líquidos intravenosos, monitoreo constante y tratamiento especializado.

Los datos oficiales muestran precisamente que cada vez más pacientes están llegando a esa fase crítica. En una sola semana se sumaron 20 hospitalizaciones adicionales y dos nuevos casos de dengue grave, indicadores que suelen ser observados con especial atención por los epidemiólogos porque reflejan la presión que la enfermedad ejerce sobre el sistema de salud.

El comportamiento observado en Panamá coincide con una tendencia regional. Diversos países de América Latina han reportado durante los primeros meses de 2026 un aumento de casos favorecido por las lluvias, las altas temperaturas y la proliferación del mosquito Aedes aegypti, transmisor del virus.

Naciones como Brasil, Colombia, Perú, Honduras y Costa Rica han mantenido sistemas de vigilancia reforzados debido a la persistencia de brotes y a la circulación simultánea de distintos serotipos del dengue.

Las autoridades sanitarias panameñas insisten en que la principal herramienta para contener la enfermedad sigue siendo la eliminación de criaderos. El mosquito deposita sus huevos en recipientes con agua acumulada, por lo que tanques destapados, llantas, botellas, latas, cubetas y otros objetos abandonados pueden convertirse en focos de reproducción.

Mientras el país entra en los meses de mayor intensidad de la temporada lluviosa, el avance de las estadísticas deja un mensaje claro: el dengue continúa ganando terreno. Y aunque la mayoría de los pacientes se recupera sin complicaciones, el aumento simultáneo de contagios, hospitalizaciones, casos graves y fallecimientos demuestra que la enfermedad sigue representando una amenaza significativa para la salud pública panameña.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding answers from the Pentagon after U.S. Central Command disclosed it had received multiple threat reports indicating foreign adversaries were exploiting commercially available location data to target or surveil American military personnel overseas.

In a letter to War Department Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies, lawmakers led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., warned that the Pentagon «has not taken basic steps to protect U.S. military personnel from the serious counterintelligence and force protection threat posed by the collection and sale of personal information, including cell phone location data, by data brokers.»

The lawmakers cited information provided by U.S. Central Command, which told Congress it «has received multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater.»

The warning centers on the vast commercial data broker industry, which collects and sells location information generated by smartphones, apps and advertising networks. Lawmakers say adversaries may be able to purchase or otherwise obtain that data and use it to identify military installations, monitor troop movements or track individual service members.

HACKERS CLAIM MASSIVE BREACH OF COMPANY THAT TRACKS AND SELLS AMERICANS’ LOCATION DATA

After revealing that CENTCOM had received multiple threat reports involving adversaries exploiting commercial location data, the lawmakers argued the Pentagon has failed to adequately address a vulnerability that has been known for years.

«That foreign adversaries are still able to buy location data collected from the phones of U.S. personnel serving in military hotspots is a direct result of DOD leadership’s failure to prioritize this threat and implement common sense cyber defenses recommended by federal cybersecurity experts,» the lawmakers wrote.

According to the letter, CENTCOM told lawmakers it only rolled out a capability to administratively disable location sharing on government-issued smartphones in May. Lawmakers also said advertising identifiers — unique tracking numbers used by advertisers and data brokers to monitor devices across apps and services — remain active on government-issued devices despite longstanding recommendations from cybersecurity agencies to disable them.

ALLSTATE SUED FOR ALLEGEDLY TRACKING AND SELLING 45M AMERICANS’ LOCATION DATA

The lawmakers urged the Pentagon to disable advertising identifiers on all government-issued smartphones and issue guidance requiring personnel to do the same on personal devices used overseas or on military installations. They also called for the Departement of War to replace web browsers that facilitate advertising-related data collection with privacy-focused alternatives that include anti-tracking protections.

The Pentagon has been grappling with the security implications of commercially available location data for years. In 2018, the fitness-tracking app Strava inadvertently revealed the locations and movement patterns of military personnel after publishing a global heat map of user activity. Similar concerns later emerged involving other fitness and location-based applications that exposed military installations and, in some cases, could be used to identify individual service members.

The War Department subsequently issued guidance restricting the use of applications and devices that share geolocation data in operational areas. But lawmakers argue the department has not fully implemented more basic protections designed to limit the collection and sale of location information in the first place.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment. 

Cybersecurity experts say the concern extends far beyond fitness-tracking applications.

The lawmakers cited information provided by U.S. Central Command, which told Congress it «has received multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater.» (Jonathan Klein/AFP via Getty Images)

The commercial data ecosystem collects vast amounts of location information generated through smartphones, mobile applications, advertising technology systems and other digital services.

«The United States’ foreign adversaries have plentiful opportunities to exploit commercial location data on Americans, because so much location data is collected, shared, sold, inferred, and much more across the commercial market on millions of Americans every day,» Justin Sherman, CEO of research and advisory firm Global Cyber Strategies, told Fox News Digital.

Sherman said foreign adversaries can potentially obtain access to location data through data brokers, digital advertising networks and other commercial systems that collect and sell information about users’ movements.

«If you’re one of the United States’ foreign adversaries, you have advanced cyber capabilities, but you see all this U.S. data out there on the commercial market, you’d think: ‘why hack when I can buy?’»

«Foreign adversaries can take advantage of gaps in U.S. privacy laws, failures in other countries to lock down data, and the pervasiveness of digital systems to get location data from data brokers, real-time bidding networks for digital ads, and many other commercial sources,» Sherman said.

The commercial data ecosystem collects vast amounts of location information generated through smartphones, mobile applications, advertising technology systems and other digital services. (Source: U.S. Army )

Once obtained, Sherman said the data can potentially be used to identify individuals, track their movements over time and build what intelligence professionals refer to as «patterns of life» — detailed pictures of a person’s routines, habits and activities.

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«The sale of location data in particular on Americans’ devices puts military personnel at risk, can expose their families and other people in their lives, and allow anyone with the data to see the sites they visit, map patterns of life, run intelligence operations against them, and more,» Sherman said. «It’s a serious national security threat.»

The lawmakers’ letter raises fresh questions about how much commercially available data foreign adversaries can access and whether existing Pentagon safeguards are sufficient to protect American troops operating in sensitive environments around the world.

Scandal after scandal is not enough to dissuade Maine Senate Democratic candidate Graham Platner’s most vocal supporter in the upper chamber. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is not backing away from Platner despite the seemingly ever-growing baggage attached to the insurgent Democratic candidate. 

The once long-shot candidate has had several fiascos break out in recent weeks following the revelation last fall that he had a tattoo of iconography linked to Nazis. Sanders argued that it was Platner’s firm stance against billionaires that was dredging up the skeletons in his closet. 

DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY

«What we’re looking at right now is a situation where billionaires have already pledged to spend $90 million in a tiny state like Maine,» Sanders said. «Trust me, that is a lot of money. They don’t want him in.»

«And the reason that they do not want him in the Senate is he has had the guts to stand up to the big money interests, to fight for healthcare as a human right, to demand the billionaires start paying their fair share of taxes,» he continued. 

Platner’s public relations woes began when video surfaced of him sporting a totenkopf, or death’s head tattoo, on his chest — a symbol of the Nazi war machine from World War II.

MAINE DEM SENATE HOPEFUL BACKED BY BERNIE SANDERS APOLOGIZES FOR NAZI-STYLE TATTOO, VOWS TO STAY IN RACE

The dam has broken in recent weeks, with old Reddit posts resurfacing in which Platner waxes on veterans, sexual assault and other topics. He’s also embroiled in a sexting scandal and was most recently found to have a profile on the controversial Kik platform.

But for Sanders, and other backers of Platner’s in the Senate, the goal is beating Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

«I think what we, as a nation, need to do is to focus on the important issues facing working families, 60% of whom are living paycheck to paycheck,» Sanders said. «And I think that Graham and his wife, Amy, will work on their marriage, and I wish them the best.» 

PLATNER STILL HAS ACTIVE ACCOUNT ON ANONYMOUS APP DUBBED ‘PREDATOR’S PARADISE’ AMID CHEATING SCANDAL

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, holds a blanket as she walks off the Senate floor after the chamber stayed in session throughout the night at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Platner was recently elevated to be the likely nominee in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills, who was the first pick for Democratic leadership in Washington, D.C., opted to drop out over financial issues with her campaign.

Now he’s likely headed to a fierce battle against longtime incumbent Collins in November. When asked about the latest issues plaguing Platner, Collins said there wasn’t much else to say. 

«I don’t have anything to add,» Collins said. «Every day there’s a new revelation about Graham Platner that reflects on his character.»

Still, Democrats who are backing the scandal-plagued Platner aren’t quick to drop him as their favored choice in Maine.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who endorsed Platner early on, said that the candidate has lived a «very, you know, real experience. He’s talked about it.» 

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«He’s talked to his wife about it. There was, you know, the voters of Maine are gonna decide what they’re gonna do, but, you know, we know that at this point, this man can still win the race, and as long as he continues, I think we’ll all be there,» Gallego said. 

Platner is set to meet with Democrats in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Sanders said he would be there.

But the choice to continue backing him, despite the several scandals piling up, has Republicans both scratching their heads and salivating at the chance to take on a candidate bogged down by baggage. 

«I mean, this guy’s a nut job,» Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said.
»So, that’s their call. But, you know, I won’t hold my breath for the Democrats to sort of course correct on this. They’re just — it’s just about absolute power for them. 
So they want to support a dude with Nazi tattoos who has all this other stuff going on. I mean, that’s on them.»