Five new deaths from dengue are confirmed in the south of Rio and Costa Verde | South of Rio and Costa Verde

Five more deaths from dengue were confirmed in the south of Rio and Costa Verde this Thursday (28). There were two deaths in Barra do Piraí, one in Pinheiral, one in Barra Mansa and one in Resende. The information was confirmed by city halls.

In Pinheiral, the victim is a 77-year-old man who had heart disease, cancer and kidney failure. He passed away at the Dr. Zilda Arns Regional Hospital, in Volta Redonda, on the 20th of this month. This was the first death from dengue in the city in 2024.

In Resende, the victim is a 79-year-old man, resident of the Fazenda da Barra lll neighborhood, who died on the 6th of this month. The municipality reached its 7th death from the disease this year.

Until the last update of this report, the city halls of Barra Mansa and Barra do Piraí had not provided information about the victims. The cities have, respectively, six and one confirmed death from the disease.

According to city halls, across the region, there have already been 37 deaths from the disease. Check out:

Dengue is part of a group of diseases called arboviruses. The virus is transmitted by the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito and has four different serotypes: DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4 — all of which can cause different forms of the disease.

All age groups are equally susceptible to the disease, but older people and those with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, are at greater risk of developing serious cases and other complications that can lead to death.

A person can have dengue fever up to four times in their lifetime. This is because it can be infected with four different serotypes of the virus. Once exposed to a certain serotype, after the disease remits, she has immunity to that specific serotype.

How to know if you have dengue and if it is serious

The infection does not always present symptoms. The individual may have asymptomatic dengue fever or have a mild condition.

But you need to be careful if the person has a high fever (39ºC to 40ºC), of sudden onset, accompanied by at least two other symptoms:

• Intense headache
• Pain behind the eyes
• Muscle and joint pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Red spots on the body

⚠️Attention: the ministry warns that it is important to seek a health service for adequate diagnosis and treatment when presenting possible symptoms of dengue.

The severe form is the one that worries. After the feverish period, the individual must pay attention to the warning signs:

• Severe and continuous abdominal pain
• Persistent vomiting
• Accumulation of fluids in body cavities
• Mucosal bleeding
• Hemorrhages

The diagnosis of dengue is basically clinical — there is no need to perform specific tests. There is also no specific medicine for the disease. Dengue, in most mild cases, heals spontaneously after 10 days.

For mild cases with symptomatic symptoms, it is recommended:

• Relative rest, while the fever lasts;
• Encouragement of fluid intake;
• Administration of paracetamol or dipyrone in case of pain or fever;
• Do not administer acetylsalicylic acid;
• Recommendation to the patient to immediately return to the health service, in case of alarm signs.

“Patients who present warning signs or serious illness require hospitalization for appropriate clinical management”, warns the Ministry of Health.