Dengue fever causes eight deaths and affects 16 municipalities in SC

Santa Catarina recorded Eighth death from dengue fever this yearwhich is the largest number of deaths recorded by the disease in the history of the state, as it exceeded in just over three months the whole of 2021, when there were seven deaths.

According to Dive (Directorate of Epidemiological Surveillance) of the state Department of Health, this number of casualties could double, as eight more deaths are still suspected and under investigation.

Six dengue deaths occurred in municipalities of the Western Region: two in Chapeco, two in Ceará, one in Rumlandia, and one in Eta. Plus one death in Criciúma in the south of the state and another death in Ascurra in the Itajaí Valley. Three other areas of concern are health agencies: Greater Florianópolis, Valle de Itajay and the Northeast.

Dive reports that 16 municipalities have a dengue epidemic, all in the West. The characterization of an epidemic occurs through the relationship between the number of confirmed cases and the population. The level of transmission of an epidemic is when the infection rate is greater than 300 cases per 100,000 population.

The Interim Minister of State for Health, Alexandre Linsina Fagundes, reported that the secretariat is on alert. On Wednesday (06), he and a team visited Chapeco, concerned about the seriousness of the situation in the area. “Health is on alert, this dialogue and support for the municipalities,” he said.

Vagondis confirmed that the state will conduct a series of confrontations with the disease. It provides for the reinstatement of municipal case rooms, monitoring and personnel management procedures, ie breaking the biological cycle of the mosquitoes that transmit dengue (Aedes aegypti) and appropriate clinical management in cases of contamination of patients.

Dengue teams work in Blumenau – Photo: Marcelo Martins / Blumenau City Council / ND

The goal is to stop the transmission of the virus. We will implement task forces to break the biological cycle of mosquitoes. “We have forecasts of rain and sun for the next 40 days, and this will become a favorable environment for the spread of mosquitoes,” the minister said.

Reported cases in 2022

According to Dive’s latest epidemiological bulletin, published on March 26, in the first three months of the year 14,937 cases of dengue were reported in Santa Catarina. Of these, 5,478 have been confirmed. Of the total number of confirmed cases, 4,156 were self-limited (in-state transmission), 60 were imported (out-of-state transmission), another 1,202 were under investigation for LPI (possible place of infection) and 60 were Not specified, because it was not possible to set the LPI.

As of the latest bulletin issued, 16 municipalities in Santa Catarina have reached epidemic level: Maravilla – which has the highest number of original cases, with 16.3% of the total cases in 2022 – Ceará, Ipura de Ouest, Belmont, Concordia, Romelandia, Abelardo Luz and Itá, Xanxerê, Guaraciaba, São José do Cedro, Colonel Freitas, Mondaí, Caibi, Flor do Sertão and Santa Helena.

Agents note the plants, vases, buckets, pools and other places that help the dengue mosquito spread – Photo: Images: Marcos Albuquerque/PMF

In the entire last year, 34,969 cases were reported in Santa Catarina. Of these, 19,133 (55%) have been confirmed. Of the confirmed total, 18,752 was by dispatch within the state.

Of the confirmed cases, ten were acute dengue and seven resulted in deaths: five in Joinville, one in Camborić, and one in Florianópolis. And in 2021, only four municipalities were in an epidemic situation: Joinville, Navegantes, Camporitch and Santa Helena.

In 2020, the country considered 11 municipalities to be in a state of epidemic. Joinville had the highest number of original cases (8,689), accounting for 79.4% of the total, and the infection rate was 1,471.5 cases per 100,000/inhabitant. In addition to Joinville, the municipalities were at the epidemic level: Aguas de Chapeco, Bombinhas, Caibe, Coronel Freitas, Formosa do Sul, Maravilla, Navegantes, São Carlos, São Miguel de Oeste and Tijucas.

Florianopolis

The situation in the capital worries the state’s health authorities. As of Wednesday (06), there were 245 confirmed cases. Most of them are in the Itacorubi neighborhood (131), followed by Agronomica (28) and Córrego Grande (14). According to the municipal health department, 2,756 outbreaks had been detected as of Monday, most of them in Córrego Grande (228), followed by Canasvieiras (197), Cachoeira do Bom Jesus (190) and Itacorubi (65).

Signs and symptoms

Usually the first appearance of dengue fever is a rise in temperature (39° to 40° C) from a sudden onset, which lasts from two to seven days, and is associated with headache, weakness, body, joint and back pain. Spots are present on the body in 50% of cases, and they can affect the face, trunk, arms and legs. Loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting may also occur.

In the acute form, bleeding from the mucous membranes (nose and gums), severe and persistent abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, lethargy, drowsiness or irritability, hypotension, and dizziness are warning signs. Some patients may also have neurological manifestations, such as seizures and irritability.

Mortality from dengue in SC

• Chapeco: 2
• Harvest: 2
• Rumlandia: 1
• ETA: 1
• Criciúma: 1
• Ascora: 1

Cases in Florianopolis (as of this Wednesday)

Total: 245

Itacore: 131

Agricultural: 28

Large current: 14

Dengue outbreak (Updated Monday)

Total: 2756

Corrego Grande: 228

Canasvieiras: 197

Boom Jesus Waterfall: 190

Itacore: 65