EID Updates:

Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases,
Region of the Americas

Vol. 5, No. 8 (21 March 2008)                             Main Updates index

Brazil Creates Crisis Office to Tackle Dengue in Rio de Janeiro

Brazil has created a crisis office to tackle an escalation of dengue fever in Rio de Janeiro, according to the statement issued on 19 March 2008 by the Ministry of Health of Brazil (Ministério da Saúde / MS). Cases of the potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease have more than doubled in Rio de Janeiro this year compared with the same period in 2007. Dengue cases in the rest of the country fell 40% from a year ago.

Health Surveillance Secretary Gerson Penna and Health Care Secretary Jose Noronha will be responsible for monitoring the event. The crisis office, to be supported by the army as well as by officials from Rio de Janeiro state, will intensify mosquito control programs and improve treatment for dengue patients.

Symptoms of dengue include fever, muscle and joint aches, and a drop in platelets, the component of blood that stems bleeding. In severe cases, patients may bleed from the nose or gums and possibly from internal organs as well. The loss of fluid from blood vessels may lead to failure of the circulatory system and shock, followed by death. For more information on dengue in the Americas, see the PAHO Dengue Page.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore. For more information, see the source cited below.

Source: Online press release of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, Nota à imprensa: Ministro monta gabinete de crise contra dengue (in Portuguese).