Dengue cases hit a million amid spike, 8 states declare emergency

Data from Brazil’s Health Ministry shows that the country has surpassed the mark of one million dengue fever cases in the first eight weeks of 2024, including both confirmed and suspected infections.

At this point last year, Brazil had recorded just over 207,000 cases.

Meanwhile, there have been 214 confirmed deaths from dengue so far in 2024, with 687 still under analysis. That is up to six times more deaths than the same period in 2023.

Eight of Brazil’s 27 states have already declared public health emergencies due to the worrying spike in dengue fever. Such declarations allow local administrations to expedite procurement for materials and personnel.

In Brazil, increases in dengue cases and deaths are an annual occurrence during summer, but Health Ministry officials say that 2024 is on course to break all previous records, with a worst-case scenario projected last month of 4.2 million cases for the year — an outcome that now looks increasingly possible.

Dengue is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the same vector of Chikungunya and the Zika virus. Summer is typically a busy period for this species, as rains in Brazil create a large amount of standing water for the insects to lay their eggs.

Control of the disease depends largely on eradicating these examples of standing water, with public health agents in peripheral neighborhoods of cities often carrying out home visits to inspect potential mosquito-breeding sites.

On Saturday, the Health Ministry has planned a special dengue awareness event, dubbed “D-Day,” to inform the population of the severity of the current spike in cases, and instruct them on how to eradicate breeding sites of mosquitoes.

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