Dengue: country passes mark of half a million probable cases – 02/12/2024 – Health

Brazil surpassed the mark of half a million probable cases of dengue fever, according to updated data from the Ministry of Health released this Monday (12).

There are 512,353 suspected cases in the first six epidemiological weeks of the year, almost four times the number recorded last year (128,842).

This year alone, 75 deaths were confirmed from the disease and another 350 are under investigation. The state of Minas Gerais is the one with the highest number of probable cases of the disease, with around 171 thousand records.

Following are São Paulo (83,651), Distrito Federal (64,403), Paraná (55,532), Rio de Janeiro (39,315), Goiás (31,809), Espírito Santo (14,107) and Santa Catarina (12,470).

Also this Monday, the São Paulo State Department of Health announced that it had received last Friday (9) 79.4 thousand doses of the dengue vaccine, sent by the Ministry of Health, to begin the vaccination campaign against the disease in the São Paulo territory.

According to the folder, the PNI (National Immunization Plan), given the limited number of doses, advised that vaccination be started in children aged 10 and 11 in the 11 municipalities of Alto Tietê previously defined by the ministry.

The City of São Paulo, through the Municipal Health Department, sent a letter to the ministry on January 30 requesting the distribution of doses of the vaccine to the capital of São Paulo. The city records an increase in cases of the disease, but was left out of the list of priority municipalities for the start of vaccination.

The capital’s administration confirmed last Thursday (8) the first death from dengue in the city in 2024. So far, the state of São Paulo has nine confirmed deaths, two of which are in Greater São Paulo, according to the government’s Monitoring Panel state.

According to the Ministry of Health, the dose distribution criteria were defined by the department in conjunction with the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) and the National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries (Conasems).

Immunization with Qdenga, from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda, will begin with children aged 10 to 11, but as soon as new batches are delivered by the manufacturing laboratory, the age group will progressively advance. This is the age group with the highest rate of hospitalization for dengue within the vaccine’s target audience, aged 10 to 14.

In total, 521 Brazilian municipalities were selected to start vaccination against dengue. The cities make up 37 health regions that, according to Health, are considered endemic for the disease.

The initial batch, with 712 thousand doses, is being sent to 315 municipalities in the following units of the federation: Federal District, Goiás, Bahia, Bahia, Acre, Acre, Paraíba, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas, São Paulo and Maranhão.