Dengue Fever – Brazil
- May 3, 2022
- 2 min read
The number of Dengue cases has increased with 113.7% in the first four months of 2022 in Brazil, with 160 deaths.
There were 542,038 probable cases between the first and sixteenth epidemiological week, between January 2 and April 23, 2022. This number is practically the same as even though it was recorded throughout 2021, when 544,000 probable cases of dengue were recorded.
The Midwest Region had the highest incidence rate of dengue, with 920.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by the South (427.2 cases/100,000 inhabitants), Southeast (188.3 cases/100,000 inhabitants) regions. , North (154 cases/100 thousand inhabitants) and Northeast (105 cases/100 thousand inhabitants). The state of Goiás has been one of the most affected, leading the incidence of the disease in the country, with 1,366 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The municipalities that presented the highest records of probable cases of dengue until April 23, respective week were Goiânia/GO, with 31,189 cases (2,004.9 cases/100 thousand inhabitants), Brasília, with 29,928 cases (967.2/100 thousand inhabitants). ), Palmas, with 9,080 cases (2,897.7 cases/100,000 inhabitants), São José do Rio Preto (SP), with 7,466 cases (1,591.3 cases/100,000 inhabitants) and Votuporanga (SP), with 6,836 cases ( 7,113/100 thousand inhabitants).
Photo: Aedes aegypti or yellow fever mosquito.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus. Dengue is spread by several species of female mosquitoes but typically by a mosquito that has white markings on its legs and sides.
Dengue can exist anywhere that mosquitoes live and is fast becoming a global problem. As the world’s climate becomes warmer, the mosquito’s distribution has increased significantly in the past decades. Dengue is fast becoming a larger problem than malaria.
Symptoms may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash. In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into severe dengue, also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever. A later reinfection can also cause serious complications.
Controlling mosquito populations is the main way to prevent and reduce dengue. Wearing long-sleeved clothing and long trousers when outdoors is always a good idea. In countries where the disease is endemic, use mosquito netting over the bed if the bedroom is not air conditioned or screened.
The first record of a case of probable dengue fever is in a Chinese medical encyclopedia from the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD) which referred to a "water poison" associated with flying insects. The primary mosquito vector, A. aegypti, spread out of Africa in the 15th to 19th centuries due in part to increased globalization secondary to the slave trade.
The origins of the Spanish word dengue are unknown, but it is possibly derived from "dinga" in Swahili, meaning a disease caused by an evil spirit.
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