Zoonotic Diseases in Latin America

Dengue

Dengue fever has been present in Latin America since the 1960s characterized by outbreaks in the Carribbeam and Venezuela. Since 1991 DENV 1,2 and 3 have circulated Latin America simultaneously with the introduction of the fourth serotype in 2010. In Rio De Janeiro during 2008 there was a higher incidence rate of Dengue Fever and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever compared to previous years. The first four months had a total of 155 thousand cases of Dengue Fever with nine thousand hospitalizations. 

Through recent research it can be assumed that much is not known about the severity of Dengue  and the factors that trigger it. For instance, Teuxeira believes the severity should be considered using factors such as population immunity, mosquito vector statistics and population flow, along with the time it takes for people to seek treatment for their symptoms. 

The conditions in Brazil, such as the large proportion of the population living in areas deficient of sanitation are often  more suitable environments for the mosquitoes to proliferate. Urbanization is known to provide mosquitoes with suitable conditions, due to the open drainage, status of waste disposal and large masses of people.  For instance it was shown that millions of Brazilian inhabitants have antibodies against Dengue serotypes and are therefore at an increased risk of developing hemorrhagic fever. Some places such as Moosoro have a seropositivity as high as 97.8% . 

Like many other countries the reality of truly eradicating Aegypti seems to be near impossible.The species themselves are adaptive to numerous habitats, which is one of the reasons why the idea of eradication in some areas will be difficult. One of the largest challenges with vector control of Aedes Aegypti is the fact that they disperse their egg batches at numerous locations and can produce more batches than typical mosquitoes. Aedes proliferation usually corresponds with areas of high urban development and in turn interact with human populations frequently. 

Throughout the years vector control programs have failed after being implemented in affected communities and become less managed after a threat goes down. Most people are aware of Dengue within the area but fail to take preventative measures proving a gap between knowledge and behavior. Research is currently being dedicated to understanding the circulation patterns for the four serotypes and educational programs are being aimed at the community level.



 

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