Dengue fever reports from various states in Brazil

During the past week, various cities and states in Brazil have reported people infected with dengue fever. These include:

• Mato Grosso - municipalities of Xanxerê, Aripuanã
• São Paulo - Ribeirão Preto (927 cases in first 15 days of January; hospitals overloaded with cases), Limeira, São Paulo (528 cases in first 3 weeks of January)
• Federal District -Brazlândia (253 cases, 1 death); over 1,000 cases in entire District
• Pará - Monte Alegre, Planalto and Curax
• Minas Gerais - emergency declared for 14 cities; Alfenas (804 cases in January)
• Santa Caterina - Pinhalzinho (80 cases per day)
• Paraná - Rolândia, Curitiba, Paranaguá, Foz do Iguaçu, Santa Terezinha de Itaipu and Tapira.

Advice

The risk of exposure to dengue fever is widespread in Brazil, but the risk will vary from place to place and from low to high depending on mosquito activity.

The absence of reports from other states does not mean that there is no dengue fever transmission there.

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