Dengue fever, or dengue, is currently spreading at an unusually high rate in Brazil. In the first two months of this year, more than a million confirmed or probable infections were counted, almost five times as many as in the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, 214 people have died from the disease, compared to 149 in the first two months last year. This is evident from figures presented by the Ministry of Health on Thursday.
Six states (Acre, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina) and the capital district of Brasília have now declared a medical emergency following the outbreak of dengue fever.
Heavy rainfall and high temperatures in recent months have likely caused the sharp increase, the ministry said. Under these conditions, the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, which transmits dengue to humans, can develop particularly well.
To combat the number of infections, Brazil is organizing a ‘D-Day’ on Saturday. Everyone is asked to combat mosquitoes by drying their wet breeding grounds, such as flower pot coasters, buckets, car tires and the like. In addition, a new vaccination campaign against dengue fever started in February.
Also in other countries
The massive spread of dengue has also reached other countries. At the beginning of this week, the Peruvian government also declared a state of emergency for most of the country also in Argentina the number of infections has increased significantly.
Dengue is an endemic disease in tropical regions, causing severe fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain. In the worst cases, the disease causes bleeding that can lead to death. Dengue and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are spreading faster due to climate change, the WHO previously concluded.
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