Officials warn Brazil may face more serious cases of dengue this summer

The arrival in Brazil of a dengue strain, known as subtype 4, and the
return of dengue subtype 1 (which had been absent from the country for
over 20 years), have been confirmed and will probably cause an increase
in the number of dangerous cases of dengue during the summer when the
disease thrives. The warning is from the secretary of Disease Control
(“Vigilância”) at the Ministry of Health, Jarbas Barbosa.

Barbosa emphasized that the danger is that when someone gets dengue a
second time, the tendency is for the disease to be much worse. “We now
have a lot of people who have had the disease once. With the dispersion
of this new strain, dengue subtype 4, more people will be getting the
disease a second time. Although dengue subtype 4 is not more dangerous
than other strains, if someone who has already had dengue gets it again
there can be severe complications,” explained Barbosa.

The Ministry of Health has announced R$700 million to combat dengue.
Much of the money, around R$440 million, is earmarked for Rio de Janeiro
where some 980 municipalities, considered the most dangerous areas in
the state, have already been mapped as part of preparations for a
summertime campaign to control the disease.

Meanwhile, the Rio de Janeiro state secretary of Health, Sergio Côrtes,
warned that there was a very large number of people susceptible to more
serious cases of dengue, especially with two “new” subtypes in
circulation. “Treatment norms must be followed rigidly. Just because a
patient improves does not mean the disease is under control. In fact, it
is often when the original symptoms get better and start to clear up
that a more grave form of dengue manifests itself,” he explained.