Between January and December last year, the state of São Paulo recorded 2,119,837 confirmed cases of dengue, the highest number ever recorded since 2000, when the historical series began. During this period, 2,050 deaths caused by the disease were also confirmed across the state.
In 2023, reported the State Department of Health, 326,872 cases were registered, with 295 deaths.
The disease numbers did not just break records in the state of São Paulo. Throughout Brazil there was also a record, with the record of almost 6.49 million probable cases of the disease, with 5,972 deaths.
One of the factors that may explain the increase in dengue cases across the country is the climate crisis, which has been raising temperatures. Visiting Brazil in February this year, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the dengue outbreak recorded in the country is part of a context of a large increase in cases of the disease on a global scale and that the rise in global temperatures has contributed to the growth in the number of dengue cases in Brazil and around the world.
Dengue
Dengue is a disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti. The most common symptoms of the disease are high fever, pain behind the eyes, body pain, red spots on the skin, itching, nausea and muscle and joint pain. One of the main ways to prevent the disease is to combat the mosquito that transmits it. This can be done by eliminating standing water or objects that accumulate water such as plant plates or used tires.
In a statement made this week, the Ministry of Health warned that dengue cases tend to increase considerably during the summer, due to the high incidence of rain in much of the country, as the accumulation of water causes mosquito proliferation to intensify. .
“During the summer, we have two phenomena that are directly associated with the biology of the Aedes aegyptimosquito that transmits dengue fever: high temperatures and a greater volume of water. These two factors, together, contribute to accelerating the proliferation of the dengue vector, even shortening the period between eggs and adult mosquitoes”, explained the deputy secretary of the Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Rivaldo Cunha. “By intensifying the biological activity of the mosquito, we have a greater number of people being infected, because there are a greater number of mosquitoes during this period”, he highlighted.
Therefore, he warns the population to help combat the mosquito that transmits the disease.
“It is recommended, during this summer period, to intensify your care and dedicate about 10 minutes to take care of your environment, your home, see if there is any object that can accumulate water, take care of vacant land, backyards, talk to your loved ones. their neighbors and demand that the public authorities also do their part, routinely collecting the waste produced by households”, he recommended.
