MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rio do Janeiro faces “dengue epidemic”, claim doctors

Dengue fever has infected more than 32,000 people in Rio de Janeiro state

Rio do Janeiro faces a dengue epidemic claims the physicians association of the Brazilian state which anticipated that next Monday they will make a formal claim against municipal, state and federal authorities for neglecting the spread of the disease that so far this year has caused 30 deaths.

"Officials denied it, but we know that a true epidemic with a great number of confirmed cases have been reported all over the city, which is most worrisome", said Jorge Darze president of the doctors union. "Next Monday we are going to charge government officials for omission and negligence" in combating the disease which is transmitted by the mosquito aedes aegipti and "which can become hemorrhagic and therefore fatal", he added. According to Darze Rio do Janeiro city and state officials and the federal government are responsible for the epidemic. "The major Cesar Maia rules by internet, from his blog; the governor Sergio Cabral is currently visiting Japan and Public federal Health minister, Jose Gomes Temporao is in Brasilia. Apparently they are afraid of catching dengue", said Darze. Currently, according to Roberto Medronho, an expert in infectious diseases, 45 new cases of dengue are confirmed each hour in Rio do Janeiro. On Tuesday this week, local clinics reported 1.100 new cases, which add to 20.269 so far this year, including 30 deaths. The latest fatal case was a one year old baby last Tuesday, said Medronho. Darze recalled that in March 2005 Brazilian president Lula da Silva declared government managed hospitals in the state of Rio do Janeiro a "public calamity", a situation which persists and has aggravated.