People aged over 60 are 12 times more likely to die from dengue than other age groups. Of the total deaths recorded in the first three months of this year (132), 42% were members of this group, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health. Due to this vulnerability, the Ministry of Health warns the elderly to seek health services as soon as the first signs of the disease appear.
“The causes of this risk condition are not completely understood, but they may be related to the higher prevalence, in this age group, of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, among others”, observes the secretary of Health Surveillance, of the Ministry of Health , Jarbas Barbosa.
The most common symptoms of dengue are fever, headache – sometimes more located behind the eyes – and joint pain. “If the person with the disease has persistent abdominal pain and vomiting, they should immediately seek a health service because these are signs of aggravation. It is also essential not to take medicine that contains Acetyl Salicylic Acid (ASA, aspirin and others) and to hydrate yourself with water, juices and coconut water”, advises Jarbas Barbosa.
These recommendations were reinforced by the secretary during a videoconference held this Tuesday (9), in Brasília, with representatives of the state secretariats of the Northeast and Southeast regions, in addition to Paraná and the Federal District. Representatives of the municipal health departments of Maceió, São Luís, João Pessoa and Sergipe also participated.
During the event, Secretary Jarbas also alerted the authorities to the need to monitor the epidemiological situation and reinforce the preparation of health services, including those in small municipalities, to avoid serious cases and deaths, using the treatment protocol developed by the Ministry of Health.
In addition, the need for state secretariats to reinforce, together with mayors, the need to intensify community mobilization actions aimed at eliminating intradomiciliary outbreaks was emphasized; the work of municipal endemic disease control agents and, furthermore, urban cleaning actions and inspection of rubber shops, junkyards and other places with the possibility of multiplication of breeding grounds for the mosquito that transmits the disease.
According to the secretary, the work of mayors to carry out actions to combat dengue is essential to prevent epidemics, serious cases and deaths. “The combination of the preventive work of each family with the actions of the Public Power is capable of reducing the population of Aedes aegypti. People should be more careful in their homes, checking the water tank, water storage containers, gutters, garbage and other containers that accumulate water, such as plant pots, among others”, said the secretary.
In the first three months of this year, 11 Brazilian states had a high incidence of dengue and concentrated 74.5% of cases notified to the Ministry of Health. From January 1st to March 30th, the states of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and Goiás registered rates ranging from 304.9 to 3,105 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. The Ministry of Health considers three levels of dengue incidence: low (up to 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), medium (from 101 to 300 cases) and high (above 300). The national average is 368.2 cases/100 thousand inhabitants.
In absolute numbers, the 11 states registered 532,107 suspected cases, equivalent to 74.5% of the total notifications across the country, that is, 714,226. Of the total number of suspected cases reported this year, 83,768 have already been discarded. It is worth noting that notifications in 2013 are still considered suspicious and may be discarded or confirmed after investigation by municipal health departments. Last year, in the same period (January 1st to March 30th), there were 190,294 notifications. In 2011, the notified cases were 344,715 and, in 2010, 501,806.
Although Brazil accounts for an increase in suspected cases, there was a 5% reduction in serious cases compared to the same period in 2012. Last year, there were 1,488 serious cases and, this year, 1,417 were confirmed. In the same period of 2011, the reduction was 74% (5,361) and, compared to 2010, it was 82% (7,804). With regard to deaths, 132 were confirmed (between January 1st and March 30th) in 2013. In 2012, there were 117 deaths; 236 (2011) and 306 (2010), in the same period.
In recent years, the Ministry of Health has permanently allocated resources to states and municipalities to finance surveillance actions, which include dengue control: R 1.34 billion in 2011; and R 173.3 million, carried out in December 2012, for actions to qualify dengue prevention and control activities, aiming to prevent the intensification of transmission that always occurs in the summer. In 2011, R$92.8 million went to 1,159 municipalities.
The Ministry of Health has also developed other actions – such as improving the capacity to alert and respond to dengue, through surveillance and monitoring systems in municipalities for early detection of outbreaks – review and update of contingency plans and purchase of strategic stock for support for assistance to victims in states and municipalities. 240,000 bottles of saline solution, 300,000 envelopes of oral rehydration salts, 30,000 bottles of Paracetamol drops and 487,500 pills were sent to states and municipalities. A strategic stock of insecticides and larvicides to control mosquitoes was also purchased and distributed to local managers: 2,500 tons of larvicides, 350,000 liters of insecticides, 60,000 liters of solvents for insecticides.
In November of last year, the Ministry of Health launched a mobilization campaign against dengue and intensified its dissemination throughout the period of greatest occurrence of dengue in 2013. Distance learning was also offered to health professionals in clinical management of patients with dengue, through a course promoted by UNASUS, known as Dengue in 15 minutes. In addition, the Health Care and Health Surveillance departments of the Ministry of Health have been providing technical assistance to organize the network of health services to care for patients with the disease and support activities to prevent and investigate suspicious deaths. of dengue.
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