O Jornal do Brasil, Sat 14 Feb 1998: "The Minister of Health, Carlos Albuquerque, announced yesterday [13 Feb 1998] that the government plans to intensify the fight against dengue. In the Southeast Region (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais & Espirito Santo) in January 1998 the disease has increased 7-fold compared to January 1997. It is planned to contract 14,000 new sanitary guards and train the 36,000 existing ones and carry out a prevention campaign. Their action will be reinforced with a radio campaign.
The minister is reported to have said that the epidemic is due to the increase in rain and temperature provoked by El Nino, and that with the reduction of these in March the epidemic will decrease in intensity, as it has every year
Espirito Santo: This state has recorded 11,000 cases so far [in 1998]. The cities of Vitoria, Guarapari & Cachoeiro do Itapemirim are affected, and 5 cases of DHF [dengue hemorrhagic fever] have been confirmed.
Drs Flavio Nobre and Elcio Couto calculate that the number of actual cases of dengue is 5 times the official figures. The State Secretary of Health has trained 80 health agents with 50 vehicles for the anti-dengue campaign, which will involve radio, TV, newspapers and leaflets to tell the public about prevention.
[Predictions about the weather and dengue are uncertain at best. Rio had an abnormally dry January this year, and that may have favored breeding of the vector mosquito, rather than heavy rains elsewhere. El Nino may cause a prolonged wet and hot season beyond March, so the epidemic may not go away as it has in previous years. Hence the training just now of thousands of prevention workers may not be too late to affect the course of the epidemic. Let me declare my interest in this -- I have just begun a year's study leave at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, so I wish Brazil well in its campaign against dengue - Mod.JW]--John Woodall <WOODALL@SERVER.BIOQMED.UFRJ.BR> VIA ProMED-mail <promed@usa.healthnet.org>