Dengue in Brazil

Dengue fever is something that we always have to worry about. The government is always warning us not let any water collect in anything in our backyards. The disease is carried by a mosquito and infects people when it bites them. This year the problem got out of hand in Rio de Janeiro and created an epidemic that goverment officials are now wishing they had averted. The truth is if money would have been spent properly it could have been prevented. I have pasted here a very good article explaining the situation there. Please pray for us as one form of this disease is deadly. Natinha has gotten dengue two times already. The 560,000 known cases are the ones that were reported, many others go unreported, my guess is it could be doubled or even be more. Palmas is a hot bed for dengue.

Dengue fever epidemic hits Rio

By Jack Chang

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil --

A deadly dengue fever epidemic has sickened tens of thousands of people and claimed at least 80 lives since the start of the year, and it shows no signs of slowing.

Fear of infection has forced thousands of tourists to cancel vacations to the city of Rio de Janeiro and pushed many residents indoors rather than risk being bitten by the striped Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the disease.

The epidemic also has collapsed public health services, which are overwhelmed by the crush of patients seeking aid, sparking widespread criticism that government officials were caught unprepared by the outbreak. Last week, the government of Rio de Janeiro state, with a population of 15 million, asked Brazil's military to open three field hospitals to serve thousands of infected people.

"There's been a total lack of attention," said Gabriel Fonseca, 41, an electrician who suffers from the most serious form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal. Fonseca said he had to wait all night at a city clinic over the weekend to receive hydration treatment that would boost his resistance to the virus. "I've always been afraid of hospitals, for exactly this reason," he said.

It's been an embarrassing episode for this world-famous city, which is known for its bustling beaches and sporty lifestyle. Now, street vendors sell electrified mosquito racquets -- which pop and flash when swatted against a mosquito -- instead of soccer jerseys. Gossip columns, instead of listing marriages and break-ups, announce the latest celebrity to be struck by the disease.

The U.S. and other embassies have alerted citizens to take precautions when coming to Rio, and planes heading abroad are being sprayed with insecticide.

Children under the age of 16 have been hit hardest by the outbreak, making up nearly half of the state's fatalities. Health officials are investigating 79 more deaths possibly linked to the dengue outbreak.

Dengue fever, which infects about 50 million people around the world a year, has proliferated in dense, growing cities, where sanitation is poor and public health services often have deteriorated, said Josh Ruxin, an assistant clinical professor of public health at Columbia University.

The number of people infected by dengue in Brazil quadrupled from 2004 to 2007, when 560,000 people came down with the disease, according to the Pan American Health Organization. While the national infection rate is down this year, it has exploded in Rio de Janeiro state and, at more than 75,000 cases, has surpassed the total number infected all last year.

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Reach Jack Chang at jchang@mcclatchydc.com.