The explosive increase in dengue cases puts Brazil and Argentina on alert

At the end of January, health authorities in Argentina and Brazil reported the number of recorded cases of dengue viral infection , a viral disease transmitted by the bite of the “Aedes Aegypti” mosquito. While in the former country more than 10,000 cases were reported in the first three weeks of January, in the latter more than 100,000 cases were recorded in the first two weeks of the month.

Dengue fever is transmitted by bite of an infected mosquito with one of the four serotypes of the dengue virus and may be asymptomatic or present with febrile symptoms for those infected. The mosquito that causes the virus”,Aedes aegypti », is nocturnal and proliferates in hot and humid climates. It is dark in color, with white spots on the legs and back, and is also a vector of viral diseases of the Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever .

In Argentina, the number of cases in the first three weeks of January is 11,800 , as reported by spokespersons of the Ministry of Health, although an estimate based on official published data indicates that there could be 17,000 until the 20th of this month. In each of the first two weeks there were between 3,600 and 4,800 cases, and in the third more than 3,000, according to data published by the Argentine media Infobae.

According to the latest epidemiological bulletin from the Argentine Ministry of Health, from the last week of October to January 20, 27,430 cases of dengue fever were recorded. Thus, a cumulative incidence of 59 cases of dengue fever per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded. Of this total, there were 26,010 indigenous cases, In other words, the person contracted the infection near their place of residence.

Throughout the country they were informed 16 deaths by dengue fever from the last week of December to the second week of January, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin from the Trans-Andean Ministry of Health. The most common symptoms in these people were fever, muscle pain and vomiting.

The virus had already caused an epidemic in Argentina in 2023. infections They usually increase between February and March, but this year they anticipated declared the newspaper La Nación. In addition, the epidemic is raging in 11 of the country’s 24 provinces. According to Department of Health epidemiologists, these 11 jurisdictions reported 5 or more cases with no travel history.

Dengue was eradicated from Argentina in the middle of the last century through programs to control the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, but in 1997 indigenous circulation of the virus that causes dengue was detected again in Salta, and then re-emergence advanced throughout the country. . Since then, there has been an increase in cases between the months of February and May, including three large outbreaks, in 2009, 2016 and 2020. In none of these outbreaks has the figure of 10 thousand cases been reached in three weeks.

In Brazil during the first three weeks of January 2024, there were 120,874 cases recorded and 9,963 notifications of probable cases of the disease, “which represents a growth of 587% compared to the same period of 2023,” according to data from the Health Intelligence Center (CIS) collected by Brasil Agency. The expansion of cases is caused by rains and high temperatures associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon. Faced with these figures, the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, presented last Friday a State Dengue Control Plan which includes the provision of 80 hydration rooms capable of accommodating up to 8,000 patients per day.

Since the beginning of this year, the disease has caused 12 deaths, according to data from the Ministry of Health. To prevent this fatal figure from increasing, the Rio governor’s plan provides for the training of 2,000 medical professionals from the state’s 92 municipalities, in order to obtain more accurate diagnoses and treatments, and the conversion of 160 beds in nine hospital centers to treat dengue fever, as has already been done with COVID-19[feminine .

In Brazil, hospitalizations until the end of last year did not yet reflect the explosion of cases at the start of 2024, says the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. In the first two weeks of the year, the number of dengue cases in the country doubled compared to the same period in 2023: there are currently 120,800 cases, compared to 44,700 last year. In 2023, Brazil recorded 1.6 million dengue diagnoses and 1,094 deaths: this is the year with the highest number of deaths from the disease. Until then, the year 2022 had recorded the highest number of victims: 1,079.

On average, 4,000 people are hospitalized per month suffering from classic or hemorrhagic dengue fever in the units of the Unified Health System (SUS), according to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health consolidated until December 2023. Hospitalizations due to the disease cost 19.7 million last year of reais (US$3.9 million) for public authorities and, with the increase in cases earlier this year, became a concern for state and municipal governments.

Concerning vaccines in Argentina, the National Administration of Medicine, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) approved the dengue vaccine in April 2023, which since the beginning of November has only been available in the country. private vaccination centers , according to the Takeda laboratory, responsible for developing the quadrivalent vaccine. This would reduce the risk of hospitalization by 84% and reduce cases of symptomatic dengue fever by 61%. It is administered subcutaneously and protects against the four serotypes of the dengue virus.

In Brazil, the government faces a significant vaccine challenge, because although it is the first country in the world to offer the vaccine in the public network there the dose is low , the authorities therefore focused on prevention measures. Those who were able to be vaccinated did so via the private network. Between November and January, the vaccine request against dengue fever in major chains pharmacy has increased by up to 400% and the demand for rapid tests has increased by 500%.

Until date, there is no specific medication To treat or cure dengue fever, health specialists therefore recommend the use of painkillers such as paracetamol and the consumption of plenty of fluids. Throughout America, Aedes aegypti is the mosquito vector of dengue fever and its four dengue serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DEN-V 4) are widely distributed throughout the country, only Canada and mainland Chile being the countries where the vector is not found. So, in Chili in 2023, the Ministry of Health has not reported any cases of dengue according to information from the Pan American Health Organization.