State creates task force to optimize investigation of deaths suspected of dengue and chikungunya

To date, 36 deaths from dengue and one from chikungunya have been confirmed in Goiás.

The Government of Goiás, through the State Department of Health of Goiás (SES), created a task force to optimize the work of investigating deaths suspected of arboviruses, diseases transmitted by Aedes aegypti. The state already counts a total of 36 deaths from dengue and one from chikungunya in 2024, according to the latest update this Thursday (29/02). In the case of dengue, another 55 deaths are still awaiting analysis by the State Committee for the Investigation of Suspicious Deaths Due to Arboviruses.

The strategy, set up at the Health Surveillance Superintendency (Suvisa), relies on the reinforcement of more health professionals, who evaluate the records of deaths made by the municipalities of Goiás, through medical records. The committee, which previously held a weekly meeting, now carries out analyzes almost daily. With the agility in its work, the State has already increased the closure of investigations into dengue deaths by more than 200%. On February 21, for example, Goiás had only 9 confirmed deaths and another 66 under investigation.

“These deaths were accumulating due to the difficulty in obtaining patient records and home investigation reports. With the task force, we had this increase (in confirmed deaths) precisely because of the agility in receiving information from the patient, more frequent meetings of the investigation teams, so that we could close the deaths”, explained the Secretary of State for Health, Rasível Santos.

The SES head also said that work was carried out with the municipalities to send home investigation reports to the UPAs and hospitals to receive the medical records more quickly. “Once the medical records and other reports were received, they were all analyzed and we were able to confirm the number of deaths we have today”, he stated.

Epidemiological scenario
Goiás today has 33,538 confirmed cases of dengue and another 78,798 reported. When comparing the cases reported in the first eight weeks of 2024 (75,090) with the same period in 2023 (23,936), there was a 213% increase in dengue records in Goiás. Dengue deaths have already been recorded in 16 different cities, with the municipalities of Anápolis and Luziânia are the ones with the most deaths, with 7 already confirmed in each. In January and February of this year alone, State Regulation has already recorded 879 hospitalizations for the disease in state health units. In the same period last year, the number of hospitalizations was 83.

The epidemiological scenario becomes even more worrying with the registration of the first case of serotype 4 in Goiás. A molecular biology exam, carried out at the Dr. Giovanni Cysneiros State Public Health Laboratory (Lacen-GO), confirmed a case in Goiânia.

Today, serotype 1 of the disease is still the predominant one, corresponding to 62% of records. There is also an increase in records of serotype 2, considered more serious. “We have even had three circulating serotypes in Goiás at times, but not in the volume of cases we are seeing now and especially serious cases. So this is another reason for warning”, said the superintendent of Health Surveillance at SES, Flúvia Amorim.

In the case of chikungunya, there are already 1,926 confirmations and 2,594 reported cases. The first death from the disease in 2024 was confirmed this week by the state committee. She is an elderly woman, aged 72, born in Serranópolis, in the southwest of Goiás. “We don’t have a vaccine yet for chikungunya, so the main form of prevention is to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, preventing them from being born and preventing us from having high rates of infestation”, warned the superintendent.

National D-Day
Next Saturday, March 2nd, D-Day will be held across the country – Brazil united against dengue. The national mobilization counts on the union of the federal government, states, municipalities and society as a whole to reinforce actions to prevent and eliminate mosquito outbreaks, with the theme ’10 minutes against dengue’. In Goiás, actions will also take place in several municipalities, with actions already confirmed in Pirenópolis and Cocalzinho. Currently, 114 municipalities in Goiás are in an emergency situation for arboviruses.

Photos: Marco Monteiro

State Department of Health – Government of Goiás