By NewsDesk @bactiman63

A four-year-old boy and his great-grandmother, 73, died this week of spotted fever in Contagem, a metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, in the Nacional neighborhood, according to a media report.

Image/CDC

The family of the victims also commented that, in the vicinity of the house where the boy and the elderly woman lived, there were “loose animals”, such as “horses, cows and dogs” that, according to her, would not have received the necessary attention from the city hall .

The Executive, in turn, stated that “the Municipal Health Department (SMS) has been monitoring the area since 2017, with the intensification of prevention actions since 2019, when there was an outbreak of spotted fever in this area. Also in July of this year, the staff of the National Health District (epidemiology, medical and zoonoses) held online training in all health units in the National and Ressaca districts on the clinical management of FMB, in which the epidemiological situation and management were also addressed. environmental”.

Both the city of Contagem and Belo Horizonte carried out actions to raise awareness and raise awareness about the risk of the star tick, which causes the disease, which lives in the bodies of animals. The insect can attack humans and transmit disease. According to the SMS from the city neighboring the capital, “on August 13th, awareness and leafleting was started for the residents of the surrounding area, in addition to the spraying in homes with a specific product to combat star ticks.” “New SMS actions were also forwarded, such as the disclosure of a Technical Note to the entire public and private health network”, completes the folder.

In the capital, the Municipality of Belo Horizonte informed that the actions were set within a radius of five blocks from Xangrilá Avenue, in the Braúna neighborhood, on the border between Belo Horizonte and Contagem. “The region is monitored by the Zoonoses Teams of the Pampulha region, which guided the population about care and information about the risks, forms of transmission and treatment of the disease. The Municipal Health Department carries out systematic actions of surveillance and control of ticks”, stated the PBH.

The capital’s management pointed out that it monitors ticks in the Northeast, North, Pampulha, Barreiro and Venda Nova regions, in addition to annually, between April and August, carrying out “vector control of equines”, which are tick baths – that is, those that kill the insect. “The City Hall also applies the pesticide on horses in the Northeast, North, Pampulha and Barreiro regions”, concludes the Executive.

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF)is an acute febrile infectious disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, transmitted by tick bite.

BSF is a rickettsiosis which manifests itself as an acute febrile infectious disease, of variable severity, from mild and atypical to severe forms. It is characterized by an abrupt onset, with nonspecific signs followed by maculopapular exanthema. Early treatment is essential to avoid more severe forms of the disease. In Brazil, mortality rates are high, between 20 and 30%.

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