According to a survey conducted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Brazil accounted for almost 70% of dengue cases in Latin America and the Caribbean, where some 4.6 million infections were confirmed this year, representing a 237% interannual increase, Agencia Brasil reported. PAHO is the arm of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas.
Uruguayan health authorities have expressed their concern about the recent increase in the number of cases of dengue fever in the town of Salto, where over 130 detections have been confirmed.
Uruguay has reported 224 cases of the mosquito transmitted disease dengue, including three related deaths, of which 113 are identified as autochthonous and 111 imported, according to the latest release (March 30) from the country's Public Health Ministry, MSP. The release also mentions imported cases of chikungunya (1) from Brazil and zika (2) from Southeast Asia.
Health officials in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have confirmed a case of type 4 dengue fever, which has not been seen in the area since 2018, Agencia Brasil reported. In response, measures are being considered to control the spread of the mosquitoes that transmit the disease (Aedes aegypti). More than 6,000 dengue virus cases have been identified this year, with 5,532 type 1 cases, 820 type 2 cases, and only one type 4 case.
The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day after the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency.
The World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan has briefed on the Zika virus situation. In the briefing Ms Chan gave a brief history of the disease and explained why WHO is so deeply concerned.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that is new to the Americas. Since Brazil reported the first cases of local transmission of the virus in May 2015, it has spread to 21 countries and territories* of the Americas (as of 23 January 2016).
Following reports of suspected Zika virus in Brazil, the health ministries of several Caribbean countries have issued advisories for the mosquito borne viral disease.On Thursday, the Jamaica Health Ministry issued an epidemiological alert after the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) noted the potential spread of this arbovirus across territories where the vectors (Aedes) are present.
A heightened risk of an outbreak of dengue fever during the upcoming soccer World Cup in Brazil has prompted a high alert in three out of 12 host cities. For the first time, scientists have developed an early warning system that predicts the risk of dengue fever infections throughout parts of Brazil.
The world’s largest ever swarm of genetically modified mosquitoes has been released in a Brazilian town to combat dengue -- a leading cause of illness and fatality in several Mercosur countries, except for Uruguay.