2024-02-07 17:54:38
Dengue fever has spread rapidly in Brazil during the hot rainy season, forcing health authorities to take emergency measures and begin mass vaccinations against the mosquito-borne disease.
In the first five weeks of this year, 364,855 cases of infection were reported, the Health Ministry said, four times more than dengue cases in the same period in 2023.
The rapid spread of dengue fever has caused 40 confirmed deaths, the ministry said, and another 265 are under investigation.
Brazil has purchased 5.2 million doses of the dengue vaccine Qdenga developed by Japanese drugmaker Takeda, and another 1.32 million doses were provided to the government free of charge, according to a statement from the ministry.
Three Brazilian states have declared a state of emergency, including the second most populous state of Minas Gerais and the federal district where the capital Brasilia is located, which is facing an unprecedented surge in infections.
Brasilia will begin vaccinating children aged 10-14 with Qdenga on Friday, the local government said on Wednesday.
The number of dengue cases in Brasilia year-to-date exceeds the total for 2023, with an infection rate of 1,625 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the national average of just 170.
Army troops have been deployed in the capital to detect the breeding grounds of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits and spreads the dengue virus in homes and backyards wherever there is stagnant water.
On Monday, the Brazilian air force set up a field hospital to prepare for a surge in cases requiring treatment in Ceilandia, a densely populated poor suburb of Brasilia.
Cities like Rio de Janeiro, which are preparing for Carnival that begins on Saturday, have taken measures to prevent an epidemic.
The Ministry of Health has set up an emergency center to coordinate the response to dengue across Brazil.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom, who visited Brasilia on Wednesday, said the dengue outbreak was fueled by the El Niño phenomenon, which led to increased rainfall in Brazil.
“This current dengue outbreak is part of a major global surge in dengue fever, with over 500 million cases and over 5,000 deaths reported last year from 80 countries in every region of the world except Europe,” he said at an event organized by the Ministry.
In South America, there is a sharp increase in dengue cases in the southern hemisphere during the summer. This is being exacerbated by rising temperatures and El Nino weather conditions in the Pacific, which are contributing to an extended dengue season and the spread of infections, scientists said.
Symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and an itchy rash. In some cases, the disease can cause a more severe hemorrhagic fever, leading to bleeding that can lead to death.
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