Brazil's soaring dengue rates trigger diagnostics boost
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
In the face of Brazil’s soaring rates of dengue this year, the health ministry is pouring an extra R$4.1 million (US$2.1 million) into three of the worst-hit states to spend specifically on diagnostics and treatment supplies. Goi�s, Mato Grosso do Sul and Minas Gerais will receive the funding, which comes on top of a R$173.3 million national dengue budget in 2013 (up from R$93 million on 2012), approved for local dengue programmes, including non-healthcare actions. Federal healthcare authorities recorded 635,000 confirmed cases between 1 January and 23 March, compared with 167,000 during the same period in 2012. This year’s figures include almost 1,300 acute cases and 110 deaths. And the figures are set to escalate far further, new data suggest: Minas Gerais, which is the worst affected state, officially accounted for 133,000 of the national total at 23 March, but by early April, the state authorities were reporting 165,000.