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Dengue risk in Brazil doubles
Thursday, 4 March, 2010
Brazil's Health Ministry announced that the number of dengue fever cases registered from Jan. 1 to Feb. 13 in the country reached 108,640, up 109 percent from the same period in 2009.
The number of deaths by dengue fever was 31 in 2009, and 21 in the period of 2010 .
About 70 percent of the cases are concentrated in only five states, which are Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goias, in the midwestern region, and Acre and Rondonia, in the northern region. The ministry has attributed the rise in cases to the high temperatures and heavy rains registered in the first six weeks of 2010 which increase the breeding areas for the Aedes mosquito which transmits the infection
Dengue fever must now be considered as a constant health threat to visitors to tropical and sub-tropical areas of South and Central America. Personal protective measures against mosquito bites are essential.
