State health warns that, although the last three weeks have been marked by a reduction, by April this year there have been more than 2,600 hospitalizations due to the disease
The Government of Goiás reinforces the alert for dengue. The State Department of Health (SES-GO), in a press conference this Thursday (04/25), reported that, even with the reduction in the number of cases, by 22.65% between weeks 12 and 15 of this year, hospitalizations continue to increase. Since the beginning of the year there have been 2,684 hospitalizations, while in the same period in 2023 there were 153.
“The drop in the number of dengue notifications does not mean a reduction in hospitalizations. Therefore, the population must take extra care regarding the prevention of the disease. At the first symptoms, it is important for the patient to seek out basic health units, emergency care units, to begin correct hydration and relevant indications as soon as possible. This means that the case does not get worse and there is less hospitalization”, recommends the superintendent of Regulation, Control and Evaluation at SES, Amanda Limongi.
The manager recalls that the scenario is also of concern given the occurrence of rain, high temperatures, with dengue and chikungunya viruses circulating simultaneously. This year, 240,150 cases of dengue fever were reported. Of these, 120,193 were confirmed and 135 deaths were recorded. Another 150 deaths from dengue are still under investigation.
The superintendent of Health Surveillance at SES-GO, Flúvia Amorim, states that the severity of the current scenario is worse than that seen in 2022, when 193,782 cases and 182 deaths from the disease were confirmed throughout the year. She also warns that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent hospitalizations, both from dengue fever and respiratory diseases. “It is precisely because of the decrease in the number of people vaccinated in previous years for flu and Covid-19, for example, that today we have this increase in cases of respiratory diseases and their severity”, she points out.
Currently, the vaccination rate against dengue is more than 90%, with 148,098 doses sent by the Ministry of Health. “However, we have around 10% doses available. People need to look for a vaccination center. Remembering that, for this specific batch, the vaccine was released for people aged 4 to 59 years old”, highlights Flúvia.
Investment
The Government of Goiás allocated more than R$5 million to municipalities to purchase medicines to treat dengue and chikungunya. The measure is carried out by the Office to Combat Arboviruses. Around 100 cities at high and medium risk for the disease have already received more than R$270,000 in products such as serums (injected sodium chloride), sodium dipyrone (tablet, oral and injectable solution) and hydration salts. Repellents, personal protective equipment, printed information and educational materials (such as banners and posters), as well as cards for case control are also sent.
Photo: Iron Braz
State Department of Health – Government of Goiás
