Flooding in Mexico causes highway closure, raises dengue risk
0 
Authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on Friday ordered the closure of the highways linking state capital Monterrey to Laredo in the U.S. state Texas due to flooding.
The flooding came a day after the region was struck by a mild tropical storm after it was stuck by Hurricane Alex more than a week ago. Some 8,000 people from the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila were evacuated on Wednesday. The hurricane has so far claimed 27 lives in the country.
The flooding has also increased the danger of a major dengue fever outbreak, Miguel Angel Lezama Fernandez, who leads the nation's National Prevention Programs and Disease Control Center, told media on Friday.
Dengue fever causes severe pain in bones, muscles and joints, as well as headaches, fever and rash. So far, no known cure for the disease has been found.
"We are working in areas affected by Hurricane Alex," Fernandez told radio station Formato 21. "We are calling for everyone in these areas to heed health authorities' advice."
