Dengue fever in Brazil - bi-weekly summary

The following states and cities in Brazil continue to report on-going transmission of dengue fever virus:

• Mato Grosso - 4 deaths in Sinop, Cuiabá, Tangará e Juína; more cases than last year; 88 of 141 municipalities have high dengue levels.
• Mato Grosso do Sul - Três Lagoas.
• Paraná - most affected cities are Paranaguá and Foz do Iguaçu; 90 cities have epidemic levels of dengue.
• Pernambuco - number of deaths triple for total of 24; highest risk in Sao João, Jaqueira, Escada, Garanhuns, Brejo da Madre de Deus, and Fernando de Noronha.
• Minas Gerais - compared to last year, there is a decrease in the number of cases in Uberlândia; Belo Horizonte reports 46 deaths among 128,000 infected people.
• Distrito Federal - more than 20,000 cases in Brasilia and surrounding satellite cities.
• Ceará - another death, total 15 among 68,000 suspected and confirmed cases; one-third of cases in city of Fortaleza.
• Rio Grande do Norte - 127 municipalities have high levels of dengue fever.
• Paraíba - 100 percent increase in reported cases.
• São Paulo - Capivari reports epidemic level of dengue.

Advice

The absence of reports from other areas does not mean that there is no dengue fever transmission there. The risk of exposure will vary from place to place and may be high in many localities.

Travellers are reminded that wherever there is transmission of dengue fever virus, there is likely to be transmission of chikungunya and Zika virus, since all three viruses are transmitted by the same mosquito.

All travellers to areas where the these viruses are active can reduce their risk of exposure by taking all necessary precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Many persons with any of these viruses may not seek medical care and are not reported to health authorities. There may be many more cases of dengue and the other viruses in the community than the reports indicate.