(Belo Horizonte) Brazil is facing an explosion in dengue cases at the start of the year, with four times more people infected than in 2023 over the same period, particularly due to the high heat.
A vaccination campaign should begin soon and the first doses should arrive in health services by next week.
According to the latest figures provided by the Ministry of Health, 262,247 probable cases of dengue fever were recorded in the first four weeks of 2024, compared to 65,366 at the same time last year.
Dengue fever has killed 29 people since the start of the year in Latin America’s largest country, and 173 other deaths that may have been caused by the disease are still being analyzed.
Dengue, a virus widespread in hot countries, occurs mainly in urban and semi-urban areas and causes 100 to 400 million infections per year worldwide, according to the WHO.
It is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, like malaria, of which it presents the same symptoms.
“The record temperatures at the end of last year, with the El Niño phenomenon, are a new and determining factor” to explain this outbreak, explains to AFP Fábio Baccheretti, president of the National Council of Secretaries of Health ( Conass).
“We are seeing dengue spreading in areas that were previously spared in Brazil and we therefore need to monitor this phenomenon closely,” he warns.
Health services are beginning to be overloaded in many metropolises. In the Federal District of Brasilia, a field hospital will receive dengue patients starting next week.
PHOTO WASHINGTON ALVES, REUTERS
A patient with dengue fever receives treatment.
The most affected state is Minas Gerais (southeast), the second most populous in Brazil, with more than 88,587 probable cases recorded.
In the streets of Contagem, a suburb of Belo Horizonte, the capital of this state, a team of municipal services enters homes as part of vast fumigation operations. The members are equipped with gas masks and dressed in white overalls that cover them from head to toe.
“It’s sometimes difficult to enter people’s homes, but they are starting to see that there are a lot of cases around them and are becoming more understanding,” explains Katia Batista, who supervises the fumigation teams in Contagem.
The Brazilian government announced two weeks ago that a free vaccination campaign targeting 3.2 million people would take place in February, primarily targeting 10-14 year olds, the age group which concentrates the largest number of people. hospitalizations.
The supplier is not able to provide more doses immediately to this country of 203 million inhabitants.