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Against the backdrop of international retinal health commemoration, public health stakeholders in the Dominican Republic are amplifying a critical message about the urgent need for early recognition of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare group of inherited eye conditions that gradually destroys the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells in the retina.

While RP is categorized as a low-prevalence, or rare, disease, leading Dominican ophthalmological institution the Espaillat Cabral Institute confirms that the irreversible damage it inflicts on patients’ independence and quality of life makes it an ongoing unaddressed medical and social challenge for the nation.

Unlike many common eye conditions, RP is not contagious, nor does it develop from external environmental factors. Its root cause lies in inherited genetic mutations passed through family lines. What makes the condition particularly tricky to catch early, according to data from the country’s specialized vision health centers and clinical units, is that its gradual onset of visual decline is often misattributed to everyday eye strain or more common refractive errors like myopia and astigmatism, leading to delayed diagnosis for many patients.

Symptoms of RP typically emerge during childhood or the teenage years, progressing slowly but consistently over decades. The condition has several key warning signs that patients and primary care providers should not overlook. The first and most commonly reported early symptom is nyctalopia, or night blindness: affected people struggle severely to navigate or see in low-light environments, including at dusk or in dimly lit indoor rooms.

A second core symptom is progressive peripheral vision loss, which leads to a narrowing of the lateral visual field often described as “tunnel vision.” People with advanced tunnel vision frequently trip over objects positioned at their sides or low to the ground, as these fall outside their restricted field of view.

Additional warning signs include difficulty adjusting to sudden shifts in lighting: the eye takes an abnormally long time to reset when moving from a bright space to a dark one, or the reverse. In later, more advanced stages of the condition, patients also experience impaired color discrimination, eventually losing the ability to tell different color shades apart.

Local retina specialists are urging the public not to dismiss persistent visual changes: anyone who experiences recurring difficulty seeing in low light or notices a steady reduction in their peripheral vision is advised to avoid normalizing these symptoms and schedule a comprehensive evaluation with a qualified retina specialist as soon as possible.

The Dominican Republic Ministry of Public Health has released its preliminary epidemiological bulletin for the 36th week of 2026, revealing significant across-the-board progress in reducing preventable mortality and controlling endemic and epidemic diseases across the country.

One of the most striking improvements documented in the report is a 20% drop in maternal mortality when comparing the first 36 epidemiological weeks of 2026 to the same period in 2025. The national count fell from 126 maternal deaths in 2025 to 101 in 2026. Breaking down the 2026 figures, 52 of the deceased women were Dominican nationals, 47 were Haitian, and two held citizenship from other countries. During week 36 alone, three maternal deaths were registered: the women were aged 18, 24, and 33, and hailed from the provinces of Duarte, Elías Piña, and San Cristóbal respectively. Every maternal death is now subject to individual investigation and case review to pinpoint gaps in care and develop targeted prevention strategies for future cases.

The bulletin also records steady progress in reducing infant and neonatal mortality. Through week 36 of 2026, 1,349 infant deaths were reported, a roughly 2% decrease from the 1,372 recorded in the same period of 2025. Neonatal deaths, which account for 81.5% of all 2026 infant mortality, also fell from 1,118 in 2025 to 1,100 this year. Forty-nine new infant deaths were added to the national count during the most recent reporting week.

To drive further improvement, the Ministry of Public Health and the National Health Service have ramped up ongoing clinical audit programs. These initiatives involve systematic review of every mortality case, continuous monitoring of care quality across facilities, and targeted tracking of health institutions that report the highest incidence of adverse outcomes.

Beyond maternal and child health, the country has achieved a dramatic reduction in confirmed malaria cases. Year-over-year through week 36, confirmed infections plummeted by approximately 82%, dropping from 760 cases in 2025 to just 137 in 2026. No new confirmed cases or malaria-related deaths were registered during week 36. Public health authorities are maintaining aggressive intervention measures including ongoing surveillance, active case finding, free rapid diagnosis, immediate treatment, and regular follow-up, particularly in the high-transmission hotspots of San Juan and Azua. The long-term goal of these efforts is to interrupt local transmission entirely and move the country closer to complete malaria elimination.

Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection commonly linked to floodwater contamination and rodent exposure, has also seen a sharp decline in recent weeks. No new confirmed cases were reported in week 36, and only five cases have been recorded across the previous four weeks. That marks a stark drop from the 27 cases confirmed in the same four-week window in 2025. To date, the national cumulative total for 2026 stands at 275 confirmed cases. The province of Puerto Plata accounts for the largest share of cases, with 74 infections making up nearly 27% of the national total. Most of these cases emerged during and after major flooding events that impacted the province earlier this year. Authorities are continuing enhanced surveillance, rapid detection and treatment protocols, environmental sanitation work, targeted rodent control campaigns, and public education for communities, with a particular focus on areas recently affected by heavy rain and flooding.

Dengue fever activity remains well within official safety thresholds, the bulletin confirms. Sixteen new confirmed cases were reported in week 36, bringing the 2026 cumulative national total to 338 confirmed cases and one recorded death. The national epidemiological curve stays within the established safe corridor, has not crossed the alarm threshold, and follows the expected pattern of seasonal variation. Notably, the Dominican Republic currently holds one of the lowest cumulative dengue incidence rates among all countries in the Americas. The Ministry continues to carry out territorial monitoring and prevention work alongside regional health directorates and local health services, including the implementation of the popular “Eliminate, Clean and Cover” strategy, which focuses on reducing mosquito breeding grounds and expanding community participation in vector control.

Respiratory disease indicators also remain favorable across the country. Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) have stayed stable at low levels, with a consistent general downward trend recorded since epidemiological week 27. Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity is also running lower than public health projections and remains within the successful endemic corridor. Authorities continue to maintain multi-layered surveillance systems including routine, sentinel, and virological monitoring, alongside ongoing vaccination campaigns for high-priority groups and widespread public outreach for preventive measures.

A key structural improvement to the country’s epidemiological monitoring system has also delivered major gains in reporting timeliness this year. During week 36, 2,692 of the 2,945 authorized health facilities nationwide submitted required epidemiological reports, representing a national reporting coverage rate of 91%. Ninety-one percent of these submitted reports were filed on time. Through the national SINAVE digital surveillance platform, 974 cases of notifiable diseases and public health events requiring immediate attention were reported, with 86% of these submissions meeting timely reporting requirements. Since the national strengthening intervention rolled out in 2026, the average time to notify public health authorities of a priority case has fallen dramatically from 17.6 days in 2025 to just 1.05 days this year. This drastic reduction in reporting delay enables public health teams to access more up-to-date data, verify potential alerts faster, and deploy interventions to affected communities much more quickly.

Public health officials note that they will continue expanding and strengthening prevention, surveillance, and clinical care systems across the country to consolidate recent gains and address remaining public health challenges. Officials emphasize that faster information flow directly translates to faster, more effective public health responses. The ministry also added that all data included in the Week 36 Epidemiological Bulletin is preliminary and may be updated as case investigations, final case classification, and cross-referencing with other official morbidity and mortality sources are completed.

A tiny newborn fighting for her life has sparked an urgent public appeal for solidarity in the Dominican Republic, as just seven days after her birth, Dashley Alahia Calderón Guzmán faces a critical congenital heart condition that requires immediate, costly intervention to survive.

Dashley’s medical diagnosis confirms she was born with a severe congenital heart malformation: her aorta is significantly underdeveloped, meaning the vital artery cannot pump enough oxygenated blood to sustain function across her body’s critical organs. Without prompt open-heart surgery, her prognosis remains grim.

The infant’s desperate family has confirmed that while the country’s National Health Insurance scheme, Senasa, covers a portion of the procedure’s costs, the out-of-pocket expense the family must cover exceeds 3 million Dominican pesos. To date, community contributions have only added up to 60,000 pesos, leaving a massive gap that the low-income family cannot close on their own.

To verify the urgency of their appeal, the family shared complete medical documentation with local national newspaper Hoy, including an official certification confirming Dashley’s diagnosis and the urgent need for surgery. One of these official medical documents was published alongside the original report to confirm the validity of the family’s request.

Currently, Dashley is receiving ongoing stabilizing care at the Center for Advanced Medicine and Telemedicine (Cedimat), one of the country’s leading advanced medical facilities, as the family waits to raise enough funds to schedule the life-saving procedure.

Members of the public who wish to support Dashley’s treatment can make donations to a dedicated Banreservas savings account under number 9605893768. Any members of the public with additional questions can also reach the family directly via phone at (809) 847-5461.