SAO PAULO – Brazil has surpassed a record 4 million cases of dengue in 2024, the highest number ever registered for the mosquito-borne disease, the Ministry of Health said.

Latin America’s most populous country detected 4,127,571 cases in the first 16 weeks of the year, marking an unprecedented rate of growth for the disease carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, according to the ministry’s updated statistics.

The figure, which includes both probable and confirmed cases, is the highest registered since recordkeeping began in 2000. In the same period last year, Brazil saw 902,174 cases, while the total number of probable and confirmed cases in 2023 was 1.658 million. According to the ministry, there have been 1,937 deaths due to dengue since January while another 2,345 suspected dengue deaths are under investigation.

In South America’s largest city Sao Paulo, home to almost 13 million inhabitants, the dengue epidemic has appeared in every neighborhood, according to City Hall.

According to the ministry, the surge in cases this year is related to factors such as climate change and the circulation of multiple serotypes of dengue virus.

(Xinhua)…[+]