RIO DE JANEIRO — 

The team of state public health workers navigated through a Rio de Janeiro junkyard, searching for any areas with standing water that could potentially contain mosquito eggs, while avoiding the scattered auto parts.

They were part of nationwide efforts to curtail a surge in Brazil of the mosquito-borne illness of dengue fever during the country’s key tourist season, which runs through the end of February.

56-year-old entomologist, Paulo Cesar Gomes, discovered mosquito larvae swimming in shallow rainwater within a car bumper.

According to him, this particular spot is referred to as a strategic point due to the constant influx of items from various places. The presence of mosquitoes here is inevitable.

In the beginning of the month, shortly before Rio began its renowned Carnival celebrations, the city, along with other states and the nation’s capital, declared a public health crisis due to a higher than usual amount of dengue cases this year.

“In an interview with The Associated Press, Ethel Maciel, head of health surveillance at Brazil’s Health Ministry, stated that we had a higher number of cases in January compared to any other January.”

As of now in 2021, Brazil has reported a total of 512,000 cases across the country, which includes both confirmed and probable cases. This number is almost four times higher than the amount reported during the same time last year.

The number of deaths being investigated for dengue this year is 425, with 75 cases confirmed. This is in contrast to the total of over 1,000 deaths in 2023.

Dengue is a virus that spreads to people when they are bitten by infected mosquitoes. The common occurrence of rain and high temperatures in Rio, which speeds up the growth of mosquito eggs and larvae, increases the likelihood of outbreaks in this notoriously warm city.

According to the World Health Organization, although some individuals do not show symptoms, dengue can result in a high fever, headache, body pain, nausea, and a rash. While most people recover within a week, there is a chance of developing a serious form of the illness that may require hospitalization and can potentially lead to death.

Gomes, a health worker, searched through a junkyard on a hot morning, wearing masks and plastic gloves, carefully inspecting piles of auto parts. He was looking for signs of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can transmit dengue.

When Gomes spotted stagnant water, he retrieved a hand pipette from his bag and searched for larvae. He then gathered the larvae in a white plastic container. The captured mosquitos and larvae are kept alive and transported to a laboratory in the city for dengue testing.

In areas where positive tests have been detected, health officials will use a product to eliminate mosquitoes from the walls and continue to monitor the area for weeks.

In September, Maciel of the Health Ministry reported the initial alert regarding a potential epidemic.

The main research institute in Brazil, the publicly-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, also known as Fiocruz, has presented various projections showing that the country could potentially reach 4.2 million cases by the end of this year, a significant increase from the 1.6 million cases reported in 2023.

According to Maciel, the increase is a result of extreme temperatures and heavy rainfall, which could be caused by either climate change or El Niño. El Niño is a natural and temporary phenomenon that causes warming in the Pacific region and can impact weather patterns globally.

Maciel mentioned that four different serotypes of the dengue virus were circulating simultaneously, including one that had not been observed in 15 years according to authorities.

According to health officials, over 80% of mosquito breeding grounds in Rio are found on residential properties. Therefore, addressing dengue must begin with household efforts, and increasing awareness is crucial, stated Mário Sérgio Ribeiro, a health surveillance official for the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The government initiated a program called “10 minutes that save lives” to motivate people to check their homes, offices, and places of worship for stagnant water.

Health workers and volunteers went door to door, pacing up and down the narrow streets of Rio’s Tabajara working-class neighborhood, or favela, to spread the word. They distributed leaflets and climbed on rooftops, looking for containers with rainwater.

According to the Associated Press, Vilza da Costa, an older woman, stated that she thinks she caught the illness.

She explained that her symptoms began with a high body temperature, followed by widespread itchiness, fatigue, and intense discomfort. She described her condition as severe. “There is a high concentration of mosquitoes in this area.”

During Carnival, which ended Wednesday, health employees welcomed visitors with free repellent. A van with a giant crossed off mosquito and the words “Against Dengue Everyday” opened and closed the parades several nights, for millions of TV viewers to see.

Maciel stated that it will take another week to determine the impact of Carnival. Despite the fact that dengue cannot be transmitted from one person to another, the influx of tourists can potentially contribute to the spread of the disease to areas that were previously unaffected.

Maciel stated that it is unclear if the cases have reached their peak and will now decrease, or if the worst-case scenario is currently occurring.

Source: voanews.com