After an increase in dengue and SARS, the health secretary inspects hospitals in Salvador and Lauro de Freitas

The State Secretary of Health, Roberta Santana, inspected, this Wednesday (1st) the 2 de Julho Hospital, in Salvador, and the Metropolitan Hospital, in Lauro de Freitas, units of the Bahia Health Secretariat (Sesab) that have An increase in the number of hospitalizations was recorded due to discharges in cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and dengue fever.

According to Santana, the Government of Bahia, through the State Health Department, is monitoring the numbers and is already planning actions to continue reinforcing assistance in the 417 municipalities in Bahia.

“Today we have an overload on the hospital network, especially in pediatrics, as a result of the seasonality of SARS and also the increasing number of dengue cases. We are reinforcing assistance and will continue to qualify and expand care for these problems. So, I took advantage of the Labor Day holiday to monitor the operation of the 2 de Julho State Hospital and the Metropolitan Hospital to evaluate the service and conditions of the units. I spoke with patients and staff about how we can improve care and thus take better care of our population. I am very happy to find professionals committed to their work, let’s join forces together to overcome this health challenge”, he highlighted.

Director of Hospital 2 de Julho, Zorilmar Santana highlighted that, currently, the unit has 259 beds, 30 of which are in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 70 in the adult ICU.

“This inspection by Secretary Roberta Santana is extremely important to see up close the efforts and results that are being achieved in the overall management of this partnership between Fabamed and the State Health Department. So, it is extremely gratifying to welcome the Sesab delegation so that we can also build new plans to increasingly serve the population better”, she assessed.

CASES

Data from the Bahia Epidemiological Surveillance directorate show that, in 2024 alone, 3,259 hospitalized cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes (SARS) were reported, an increase of more than 11.5% compared to the same period last year.

Dengue numbers also draw attention. This year, Bahia has already registered 169,758 cases of the disease, an increase of 736.3% compared to the same period of the previous year. Currently, Bahia has a dengue fatality rate of 2.9%, lower than the national average. In total, 56 deaths from dengue were confirmed in the municipalities of Vitória da Conquista (12), Feira de Santana (4), Jacaraci (4), Juazeiro (4), Piripá (3), Barra do Choça (2), Caetité ( 2), Coaraci (2), Encruzilhada (2), Palmas de Monte Alto (2), Santo Antônio de Jesus (2), Bom Jesus da Lapa (1), Caculé (1), Caetanos (1), Campo Formoso ( 1), Caraíbas (1) Carinhanha (1), Guanambi (1), Ibiassucê (1), Ipiaú (1), Irecê (1), Luís Eduardo Magalhães (1), Macaúbas (1), Maraú (1), Santo Estevão (1), Seabra (1), Tanque Novo (1) and Várzea Nova (1). The last four deaths were registered in residents of Feira de Santana, Macaúbas, Palmas de Monte Alto and Vitória da Conquista.

VACCINATION

Given the panorama, the low vaccination rates in Bahia against influenza are still a concern. Data from the Ministry of Health’s vaccination panel indicate that vaccination coverage for the disease in the State is around 18.49%, with 886,592 doses applied. The Ministry of Health announced on May 1st the expansion of the influenza vaccination campaign. From now on, immunization is recommended for the entire population from 6 months onwards.

As for the dengue vaccine, the situation is relatively better, but it still requires the population to remain alert. A survey carried out by Sesab showed that all 120,022 doses of dengue vaccine with an expiration date of April 30 were administered before the expiration date. All stock was cleared last Monday (29). This week, the state received another 67,087 doses of the dengue vaccine, to be distributed to 115 municipalities, according to criteria established by the Ministry of Health. With this delivery, Bahia accounts for 237,556 doses received, with the target audience for immunization being the ages 10 to 14.