A patient suspected of having dengue is being treated in Rio de Janeiro. — © AP
Dengue, or dengue fever, is currently spreading at an unusually high rate in Brazil. In the first two months of this year, more than a million confirmed or probable infections were counted, almost a fifth more than in the same period last year.
Source: BELGA
Yesterday at 07:49
This was evident from figures from the Ministry of Health on Thursday.
Six states and the capital district have now declared a state of emergency following the dengue outbreak.
Heavy rainfall and high temperatures in recent months have likely caused the sharp increase, the ministry said. Under these conditions, the yellow fever mosquito, which transmits dengue to humans, can develop particularly well.
To combat the number of infections, Brazil is organizing a ‘D-Day’ on Saturday. Everyone is asked to combat mosquitoes by drying their breeding grounds, such as flower pot coasters. In addition, a new vaccination campaign against dengue fever started in February.
Also other countries
The massive spread of dengue has also reached other countries. At the beginning of this week, the Peruvian government also declared a state of emergency for most of the country and the number of infections has also risen significantly in Argentina.
Dengue is an endemic disease in tropical regions, causing severe fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain. In the worst cases, the disease causes bleeding, which can lead to death. Dengue and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are spreading faster due to climate change, the WHO previously concluded.