March 2024 breaks record as the month that registered the most deaths from dengue since 2000, with 665 deaths – News

Between March 1st and April 1st, Brazil recorded 665 deaths caused by dengue, an average of 20 deaths per day. According to data from the Ministry of Health, this is the highest number recorded during this month since 2000, when the department began counting cases. Furthermore, in 19 of the 24 years recorded, the country had fewer deaths than what was recorded just this month. Since the beginning of the year, 991 deaths have been confirmed and another 1,483 are under investigation.

The record for deaths is 2023, with 1,072, followed by 2022, with 1,053. The month with the most deaths last year was April, when the disease peaked and 285 deaths were recorded.

In the following infographicit is possible to see the death curve starting to rise at the beginning of the year, reaching its peak in April and then falling, as expected.

According to the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, climate change and the circulation of more serotypes of the disease justify the increase in dengue cases in the country in the first months. She explains that Brazil is experiencing an “atypical situation” as it registered many cases at the beginning of the year and in cities that normally do not suffer from the disease.

The years that had the most deaths from dengue, in addition to 2023 and 2022 already mentioned, are 2015, with 986; 2019, with 820; and 2016, with 701.

Brazil broke the record number of cases, previously set in 2015, on the 18th, with 1,889,206 confirmed diagnoses. This Tuesday, there are already 2,624,300 probable cases.

According to data from the Ministry of Health’s dengue panel, the Federal District is the federation unit with the highest incidence rate of probable cases, with 6,804 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The DF is followed by Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Paraná and Goiás, which, together, represent almost 58% of the absolute number of cases in the country.

The age group that records the most dengue cases is 20 to 29 years old, with more than 495 thousand cases, which represents almost one in every five cases. When separated by gender, women are the majority to contract the disease (55.4%).

Decrease in the number of cases

The Secretary of Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Health, Ethel Maciel, stated this Tuesday (2) that, in eight units of the federation, the “worst is over” and dengue cases show a downward trend.

According to the ministry, Acre, Amazonas, Espírito Santo, Federal District, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Piauí and Roraima show a reduction in the disease. Despite this, Ethel states that it is important for the population to remain alert and that “it is not over, we will still have cases of dengue fever”.

“We have already reached the peak, but the curve still has to go down. We still have a few weeks for this fall, to understand if it will be longer, if it will be at the same speed as the rise”, he explains.

According to the government, seven states show an increasing trend in the number of cases. This increase affects the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe.