MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dengue panic in Brazil: 19.169 cases and 30 deaths in 2008

Six children have died of the mosquito transmitted disease in the last 24 hours reported Brazilian health authorities from Rio do Janeiro, totaling 30 fatal cases so far this year which is almost the 31registered in the twelve months of 2007.

"Hospitals are on the verge of collapse as a "dengue-panic" has extended to the city", following on information that since the beginning of the year 19.169 cases of dengue have been officially confirmed said the Rio press quoting sanitary sources and illustrated by long queues of parents with children waiting for medical treatment. Of the 30 deaths, 17 are children below the age of 11. In the first fortnight of March the number of cases has soared to 2.275. The situation has been considered so serious that the Rio do Janeiro state Health and Civil Defence office has requested help from the Armed Forces to help combat the focus of the outbreak plus supplying hospital beds. The current rate of infestation means that in Rio there are 327 cases of dengue per 100.000 population which is rapidly approaching the 470 per 100.000 benchmark which describes an epidemic. At the beginning of the year the Rio government declared a "state of alert" given the 95% jump in cases in 2007 compared to 2006, 60.647 against 31.054. Local authorities have requested aid from the federal government which apparently is working on an overall plan to prevent the disease from spreading. According to the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dengue (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are caused by one of four closely related, but antigenically distinct, virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4), of the genus Flavivirus. Infection with one of these serotypes provides immunity to only that serotype for life, so persons living in a dengue-endemic area can have more than one dengue infection during their lifetime. DF and DHF are primarily diseases of tropical and sub tropical areas, and the four different dengue serotypes are maintained in a cycle that involves humans and the Aedes mosquito. However, Aedes Aegypti,a domestic, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans, is the most common Aedes species. Infections produce a spectrum of clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease. Important risk factors for DHF include the strain of the infecting virus, as well as the age, and especially the prior dengue infection history of the patient. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, severe headache, myalgias and arthralgias, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic manifestations. Occasionally produces shock and hemorrhage, leading to death.