Several municipalities in São Paulo, Brazil, reach epidemic levels of dengue fever

Several municipalities in the state of São Paulo have declared epidemics of dengue fever. They include:

• Rio Claro - 1,074 confirmed casos; 691 cases in last 10 days.
• Votorantim - in the Sorocaba region, cases increased from 57 cases to 107, with 20 suspected cases per day.
• Cândido Mota - 282 cases
• Marília
• Paraguaçu Paulista
• Ubirajara
• Catanduva - health facilities are overwhelmed with cases of dengue fever
• Ribeirão Preto - 49 cases in January (8 times more than the same time period last year)
• Itapira - 1,715 reported cases in January (3 times the number for the same time period last year)

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.