Sao Paulo (AFP)
Dengue killed four times more people in Brazil from January to August than in the same period last year, killing at least 591 people, Health Ministry said Wednesday.
Health authorities have also reported 486 suspected cases of death, but not confirmed at this stage. In comparison, 141 people died of dengue fever from January to August 24, 2018, according to the ministry.
Cases of dengue, at 1.43 million throughout the country until August 24, were multiplied by nearly seven compared to 205,791 cases in the same period of 2018.
The year 2015 remains the peak of the disease in Brazil with nearly 1.7 million cases, including 986 deaths.
The southern and south-eastern states, like those of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, are the most affected by the infectious disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which proliferate especially in urban areas thanks to heat and humidity.
These last two factors have apparently played a determining role in the sharp rise in cases this year, according to the Ministry of Health.
In addition, chikungunya, another disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, is also increasing this year in Brazil.
From January to 24 August, 110,627 cases were recorded, 44.2% more than in the same period of 2018. The disease caused 57 deaths, the majority (47) in Rio de Janeiro. Sixty other deaths are suspected, but unconfirmed.
© 2019 AFP