SP has 4 cases of type 3 dengue fever, without an epidemic for 15 years – 11/22/2023 – Health

The Health Department of Votuporanga (521 km from São Paulo) confirmed four cases of dengue serotype 3, which has not caused an epidemic in Brazil for 15 years. The epidemic serotypes in the country are types 1 and 2.

The first was detected in a 34-year-old woman, who drew attention due to the intensity of the classic symptoms of the disease — fever, vomiting, pain and red spots on the body, in addition to nose and urine bleeding.

In the blocking actions, the secretariat identified seven other suspected cases. Samples were collected and sent for analysis. Of these, three were confirmed for the same serotype. The patients are women aged 5, 31 and 46.

All cases belong to the same territory, located in a neighborhood in the southern region of the city, according to the department. The four people are at home and are doing well.

The secretariat will continue to collect samples in other regions of the city and send them for laboratory analysis to detect whether the virus is circulating in more locations or whether it was an isolated situation.

The Secretary of Health, Ivonete Félix do Nascimento, asks the population to allow the agents to enter and to clean their backyards daily. “It’s everyone’s job, every citizen’s duty, to keep their backyards and land clean, free of objects that can accumulate water,” she says.

At the Brazilian Congress of Infectious Diseases held last September, professor at UFRN (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte) Kleber Luz, coordinator of the Arbovirus Committee of the SBI (Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases) and consultant for arboviruses at Opas (Organização Pan -American Health), drew attention to the possibility of a dengue epidemic 3.

“Dengue serotypes 1 and 2 predominate in Brazil in 2023. 3 is very present in Mexico, in Central America, and it is already found in the North of the country. There is a chance of a more important epidemic, with deaths”, he said in season.

The dengue virus has four serotypes. When an individual is infected by one of them they acquire immunity against that virus, but are still susceptible to the others. There is a danger of severe dengue, which occurs more frequently in people who have already had the disease and are infected again by another serotype. This is what can happen with type 3 infection.

Among the warning signs are the classics such as fever, red spots on the body, abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, also accompanied by bleeding from the gums, nose or urine. When noticing any symptoms, citizens are advised to seek medical attention at the nearest health unit.

In May this year, a study by Fiocruz had identified three cases of serotype 3 in Roraima and one in Paraná. The analyzes indicated that the detected lineage was introduced to the Americas from Asia, in the period between 2018 and 2020, probably through the Caribbean.