By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

Rio Branco is the capital of Acre state in western Brazil, and since the beginning of the year, 1,494 reported cases of dengue were registered through Jan 21.

Image by chiplanay from Pixabay

This represents an increase of 481 percent over the same period in 2020, when 257 suspected cases were registered.

This huge increase in cases prompted Mayor Tião Bocalom to issue an emergency decree. “This decree was signed on Monday afternoon and is being published today [Tuesday] and is already valid exactly because the dengue situation has soared. Unfortunately, since the month of December it has been growing and in January, in the last three weeks, it shot up. So, we need, with this decree, that people understand that, really, now the situation is emerging and that we need to take the utmost care ”, said the mayor.

The decree is valid for 180 days. During this period, the city government authorized the temporary hiring of staff to meet the situation and authorized the Municipal Health Department to request staff and equipment from other departments to develop actions to eliminate the outbreaks of mosquito proliferation.

The document stipulates that teams of endemic control agents and community health agents should intensify mosquito prevention and control measures with the population.

And it authorizes that endemic control agents, community health agents and health fiscal auditors can enter empty lots or in places whose homes are closed for monitoring, treatment and elimination of possible outbreaks of mosquito larvae.

“Our Vigilance personnel go to the street, they will be able to guide people, and with this decree we can carry out advertising campaigns so that we can raise people’s awareness. If it doesn’t help, we will have serious problems, because dengue also kills and perhaps kills even more than Covid-19. Hemorrhagic dengue, for example, we already had six cases this year and two people died. So that’s where we get people’s attention, ”said Bocalom.

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