Brazil reached the mark of 55,859 probable cases of dengue in the first two weeks of January this year. Monitoring by the Ministry of Health indicates that the number of infections corresponds to a comparison of 27.5 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. In addition to the cases, six deaths from the disease were recorded in the country.
In the most recent week of analysis, which runs from January 7th to 13th, there was a higher incidence of dengue cases in four units of the federation: Minas Gerais, Paraná, Acre and Distrito Federal. In the case of Minas, the Department of Health points out that, in addition to the 3,983 confirmed cases in 2024, another 11,658 are being investigated. While the DF estimates 5,096 probable cases of the disease – an increase of 435% compared to 2023.
The rise in cases is also seen in cities affected by rain, such as Rio de Janeiro. A storm last weekend caused the deaths of 12 people, while one remains missing. On the 16th day of January, the state recorded almost the same number of dengue cases as in the first two months of last year: there were 4,446 notifications. In 2023, there were 4,728 registrations in eight weeks.
The Rio de Janeiro Health Department also indicates that records may be underreported. “With the exception of Metropolitan Region II, which includes the municipalities of Niterói and São Gonçalo, all eight other regions of the state present probable cases above what is expected for this time of year”, says an excerpt from the publicity regarding the disease.
Vaccination
Parallel to the rise in the disease, the Ministry of Health confirmed that, in February, vaccination against dengue will begin. The action will be aimed at a specific audience, to be chosen in the age group ranging from 6 to 16 years old. The vaccination schedule will be in double doses, for a group of 3 million people. Immunization details will be defined at a Ministry of Health meeting next Thursday (25). The vaccine will be Qdenga.
In addition to the announced vaccine, another vaccine is being developed by the Butantan Institute: Butantan-DV, tetravalent against Dengue. The vaccine is in phase 3 of clinical trials, with the study expected to end in 2024. In December 2022, the institute released the preliminary results of the study, which show 79.6% overall effectiveness in preventing cases of symptomatic dengue.
Fiocruz confirmed, in a note, that it had initial conversations with the manufacturer of the vaccine that will be applied in Brazil – Takeda, which uses technology from Qdenga, but says there has not yet been any decision to formalize the initiative.