The number of cases of dengue, zika and chikungunya in Brazil fell significantly in relation to last year. Data from the Ministry of Health released on Monday (8) indicate that up to April 15, 113,381 suspected dengue infections were registered - 90% less than in the same period of 2016. The fall in chikungunya records was also Significant: 68%. The announcement points to a reduction of 135,030 suspected cases to 43,010. Already the zika had a fall of 45% of cases compared to the same period, reaching 7,911 suspicions this year.
The director of the Department of Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health, João Paulo Toledo, said that the greatest attention this year is for the increase of chikungunya cases in Tocantins, Rio Grande do Norte and Roraima. Despite the increase, the number still does not characterize epidemic.
In Tocantins, for example, the proportion of cases is 109.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, one-third of what is considered an epidemic level. In Rio Grande do Norte, the proportion is 189.8 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, while in Roraima, the incidence is 80.5 per 100 thousand. Toledo reported that teams from the Ministry of Health were sent to the region to assist in prevention work.
Even with the reduction of cases, dengue is present in all the States of the country, although it is not identified with an epidemic level in any region. The largest concentration of cases is in the Midwest, with 160 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with an incidence of 281 per 100,000 in Goiás.
In the State of São Paulo, there were 8,237 suspected dengue cases, an incidence of 18.4 - lower than the 373 mark identified in the same period of last year. In 2017, 17 deaths caused by dengue in the country were confirmed, while the number reached 507 in 2016.
As for zika, the highest incidences were recorded in Tocantins, with 49.6 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants and in Roraima, with 23.5 per 100 thousand. In the State of São Paulo, 344 infections were reported by the virus, which is equivalent to an incidence of 0.8 per 100,000. Last year, the number was 8.9.