Dengue fever in Brazil tops 640,000 cases, rises 120,000 in one week
The dengue fever capital of the world still appears to be Brazil as the South American country’s dengue fever epidemic continues to mount halfway through 2014. As you may recall, Brazil recorded a whopping 1.4 million dengue cases in 2013, accounting for 63 percent of all dengue cases in the Western Hemisphere (2.3 million in 2013).
Image/CIA
It seems the mosquito borne virus hasn’t slowed much since last year. On Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported Brazil as having over 640,000 suspected and confirmed cases, including 213 deaths to epidemiological week 26. This is an increase of 122,741 dengue cases in one week (Last week Brazil recorded 517,695 cases).
The total number of dengue fever cases reported is closing in on a million, currently at 907,191.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious fromperson to person. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated denguefever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
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