Santos strategies in the fight against chikungunya win honorable mention in state congress

The pioneering strategies adopted by the Health Department of Santos in the fight against chikungunya, which served as a model for other municipalities, won an honorable mention in the 12th edition of the David Capistrano Award, held at the 36th Congress of Municipal Secretaries of the State of São Paulo, which ended last Friday (17) with 1,496 entries.

In July, the initiative from Santos, along with other winners, will represent the state of São Paulo in the National Exhibition ‘Brasil Aqui Tem SUS’, during the 37th National Congress of Municipal Secretariats. Entitled “First chikungunya epidemic in the municipality of Santos – experience in early detection”, the work detailed how the municipality faced the dengue and chikungunya epidemics in 2021, simultaneously with critical moments of the covid-19 pandemic and the beginning of the campaign vaccination against this disease.

“It was a period in which the entire health network, whether in terms of care or surveillance, was in great demand and health challenges were imposed all at once. It was necessary to act as soon as possible to avoid cases and deaths. And we reduced chikungunya cases in the city by more than 90%. In 2021, 7,370 cases of chikungunya were recorded in Santos; in 2022, 338; and this year, 7. In 2021, chikungunya caused 4 deaths, but since then we have had no more deaths from the disease”, says Ana Paula Valeiras, head of the Department of Health Surveillance.

Carolina Ozawa, Health Surveillance coordinator, detailed the strategies adopted by the Municipality in a presentation at the Congress, alongside physician Nivia Torres dos Santos and nursing technician Luciana Souza de Assenção de Jesus.

“It was an experience of how to organize the network to serve everyone at the same time. We adopted a strategy for early surveillance of cases, which served as a model for the entire state: organization of the health network with inputs, preparation of the rear in specialties (with the availability of a rheumatologist and physiotherapy, essential for the treatment of chikungunya) and requesting tests of serology to identify not only dengue, but also chikungunya. We advise physicians to request both tests when treating patients and, thus, we identify many cases of chikungunya”, highlights Carolina.

At the same time, in 2021, visits to properties by agents combating endemic diseases were resumed, since in 2020, due to a necessary period of seclusion for society, it was not possible to enter the homes of citizens.

For the Secretary of Health, Adriano Catapreta, “the recognition obtained in Congress is the result of the team’s ability to reinvent itself, to assess situations and make use of strategies that change routine, but that directly benefit public health”.