More than 500 cities at risk of dengue outbreak this summer | Science and Health

Health workers in Brasilia are observing an oversight in prevention – in following those basic rules that everyone knows – of not leaving standing water in the plant cups, not leaving trash accumulated. It rains, the water stays pocketed: perfect place for mosquito outbreaks.

The most acute phase of the disease Jeniffer has passed on – but the little dicks and itchy body still bother. "They say it's the last step, which is to paint the whole body, and it scratches a lot too," he says.

Leoni had hemorrhagic dengue. "There's a lot of trash, it's a lot of trash, and there are a lot of people who do not take care of the backyards, you have to pay more attention to these things, because the business is serious, I got bad.

Jeniffer and Leoni are among the more than 29,000 cases of dengue reported by the Health Department of Goiânia last year. In Goiás, the increase in the number of dengue cases was almost 32%. There were 63,000 confirmed cases with 64 deaths last year – against 43,000 cases and 53 deaths in 2017.

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According to the Ministry of Health, the Midwest region had the highest number of suspected cases last year: 93,000. Then comes the Southeast, with 68 thousand cases, Northeast, with 66 thousand, North, with 16 thousand, and South, with 2,900 cases.

In the state of Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo, 132 cases of dengue were recorded last year. This year, there are already 62 cases of the disease. The prefecture even prepared an extra structure, with hydration rooms, only for the victims of dengue.

This condominium in Taquara, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, where 300 families live, lives an epidemic of zika and chikungunya. In Dona Rosângela's house, things turned ugly. "My whole family, everyone, happened to pick up chikungunya – my mother, who is 86 years old, has my daughter, my son, the other son too.My grandchild, my granddaughter," she says.

In Para, the biggest concern is with the chikungunya. In Belem, the number of victims in 2018 has more than tripled compared to 2017. Three of the four people who live in the house of Mrs. Larissa took the disease. "Many pains in joints, shoulders, knees and feet. To this day I still feel in my feet," he says.

Brasília is among the country's 504 cities at risk of dengue, chikungunya and zika. Health officials are finding more mosquito outbreaks in homes.

The North Lake, one of the most expensive areas of Brasilia, is among the places where the dengue mosquito was most found. While the index of property infestation in the Federal District was 1.48% of the houses visited, here the percentage reached 8.74% – which is already considered a state of risk when it comes to mosquito infestation. To intensify the fight against the mosquito, the health department will have 350 environmental watch officers and 400 firefighters.

The Ministry of Health reported that actions to combat Aedes aegypti are carried out throughout the year with states and municipalities, and provide technical support and supplies – such as larvicides – to combat the mosquito, as well as vehicles to carry out the fumes and also test for diagnosis. In December, a thousand trucks were distributed to reinforce the surveillance services.