São Paulo, Brazil (EFE).- The government of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, declared a public health emergency on Wednesday due to the rapid increase in dengue cases and announced further actions to combat the transmission of the virus.
Eleuses Paiva, regional health secretary of Brazil, said at a press conference that the government would “ensure that every municipality has the necessary infrastructure” to deal with the spread of the disease, which is transmitted by a mosquito.
The government also announced an investment of three million reais (530,000 dollars) for the purchase of 110 new fumigation units, as well as 32 million units of medication, such as serums and antipyretics, to treat patients in the most affected municipalities.
In 2025’s first few months, São Paulo, with a population of 44 million, has reported nearly 200,000 possible cases, more than half the total recorded in Brazil, in addition to 102 confirmed deaths and 225 others under investigation, according to the federal government health figures.
In addition, almost a third of the region’s 645 municipalities have already exceeded 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In January 2025, São Paulo recorded more than twice as many cases as in the same month in 2024, a year in which Brazil reached an all-time high of 6.6 million cases, with 6,216 confirmed deaths and a further 489 under investigation.
The high temperatures and heavy rains ed in the country over the last two austral summers have facilitated the rapid reproduction of mosquitoes.
Faced with this situation, the federal government launched a contingency plan in January, including the expansion of a proyect to implant a bacterium in mosquitoes that prevents them from transmitting the virus.
At the same time, a dengue vaccine developed by Brazilian scientists is being evaluated by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency. EFE
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