Brazil showed an increase of 599% in the number of dengue cases reported for 2019 in comparison to the same period last year. To reach this figure, the Ministry of Health compared two sets of data: one provided by the agency between December 30th, 2018 and August 24th, 2019, and the other for the same time frame for 2017 and 2018. In 2019, there were 1,439,471 recorded cases of the disease versus 205,791 in 2018.

The analysis showed that the states that were most affected were Minas Gerais (471.165 occurrences) and São Paulo (437.047 occurrences). According to the Ministry of Health, there are several explanations for the increase, including the high volume of rain, high temperatures (the female Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue, reproduces more quickly in the heat), and a change in the dominant subtype of the virus that causes the disease.

The virus has four subtypes. In the last few years, the dominant one was subtype 1. Subtype 2 is now circulating more intensely. When people catch dengue, they become permanently immune to the subtype that affected them, but not to the other subtypes. That is why less people have immunity to subtype 2 which is more prevalent now.

Because of the increase in the number of cases, the Health Ministry decided to move the Aedes Aegypti campaign forward. The campaign is usually launched in November when the number of recorded cases tends to increase due to the rains and the heat. In 2019, however, the initiative was launched on September 12th. The goal is to engage the population and local government to adopt measures against the mosquito.

Questions

1) Which of the alternatives provides a reason for the increase in dengue cases?
a) The arrival of a new species of mosquito
b) The lack of medication in pharmacies
c) High temperatures, a lot of rain and a change in the virus subtype of the disease
d) Lack of rain in the winter

2) What do you do on a day-to-day basis to prevent the reproduction of dengue mosquitoes in stagnant water?

 

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