Washington/The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Brazilian Jarbas Barbosa, assures that 90% of deaths from dengue – almost 7,000 this 2024 in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is experiencing the worst epidemic of the virus in decades – are avoidable.
So far this year, more than 11.8 million cases of dengue have been detected on the continent, of which 6,838 have ended in death, epidemic figures that, three months before the end of the year, practically triple those already high in 2023.
“Deaths from dengue can be avoided by almost 90% if health professionals are trained to quickly identify the signs and symptoms,” says Barbosa in an interview with EFE.
Strengthening primary care, essential to combat serious cases of dengue, transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, It is one of the topics to be discussed this week during the 61st PAHO Directing Council, attended by the region’s Health Ministers.
Barbosa will participate this Monday in the opening of the event, in Washington, which is also attended by the director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The explosion in dengue cases, the vast majority in Brazil, with 9.6 million, followed by Argentina (575,000) and Mexico (288,000), is explained by a combination of factors that includes climate change, El Niño or rapid urbanization. without adequate water sanitation or waste management infrastructure.
“It is a mosquito that has a tremendous capacity for adaptation. The mosquito today is in colder and higher places than ever,” says Barbosa to explain the data recorded this year.
Brazil began a hopeful vaccination campaign in 2024
Brazil began a hopeful vaccination campaign in 2024, but the fact that it requires two doses and does not have enough to immunize a large number of people makes it “not a good vaccine to interrupt an outbreak,” regrets Barbosa.
“Without having a vaccine that is widely produced, that is a one-dose vaccine and that is very effective for all four serotypes at the same time, we are going to live with dengue outbreaks perhaps for a few years,” he says.
While working to achieve this vaccine, perhaps next year, PAHO is putting its efforts, on the one hand, in training health personnel to prevent deaths by quickly identifying symptoms.
On the other hand, vector control, with house-to-house inspections in the most affected areas to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, which in addition to dengue can also transmit Zika, chikungunya or yellow fever.
While dealing with the dengue epidemic, PAHO has also been dealing in recent months with an increase in cases of Oropouche fever caused by the bite of infected midges.
At the beginning of September there were almost 10,000 cases detected, mostly also in Brazil, and for the first time, as far as is known, with two associated deaths and vertical transmission from mother to fetus.
Barbosa explains that Oropouche fever, among the diseases transmitted by vectors and which also has great presence in Cubawas never considered a priority since it produced mild cases.
“But we now have a situation of concern that we are investigating (…) we don’t know if it is a change or not,” he adds.
During this week’s meetings in Washington, PAHO also has on its agenda topics such as the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer or diabetes, access to medicines or the digital transformation of health.
