Just a few days before Carnival, Rio de Janeiro has declared a public health emergency due to Dengue Fever outbreaks. The annual celebration begins the night of February 9 and ends on February 14. The city has confirmed over 10,000 Dengue infections in 2024 – which is nearly half the total cases from all of last year. Rio de Janeiro has rolled out a number of measures in an attempt to control the virus’s spread, including: opening of ten healthcare facilities, establishing an emergency operations center and providing hospital beds for Dengue patients. The government will also deploy “smoke cars” to spray insecticide in neighborhoods with the most cases. The state of Rio will also launch the “Against Dengue Every Day” campaign to educate the public about ways to prevent the disease. This campaign will include giving people at the Sambadrome repellents, bandanas, hats and other items containing educational message, along with a 15-second PSA. Increased temperatures and rainfall due to climate change is leading to more dengue infections. Studies have also shown climate change to raise the risk of other mosquito-borne infections such as malaria. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes called in citizens to as the residents to get rid of any standing water, environments in which mosquitos reproduce.
Full Story: Associated Press