“I consider Rio de Janeiro runs the risk of one of the worst epidemics, in number of cases of dengue in its history.”-Alexandre Padilha, Health Minister of Brazil

Brazil’s tourist city of Rio de Janeiro is being hit hard by type 4 Dengue fever.  So far there are more than 3,000 confirmed cases!  However, the rest of Brazil is actually seeing a huge 62% drop in cases (keep in mind that last year Brazil had 106,373 cases).

Across the world, Pakistani health officials (Rawalpindi Development Authority, Water and Sanitation Agency, the Parks and Horticulture Authority and the Health Department) have gone to war to prevent an outbreak of hemorrhagic Dengue fever.

Pesticides are being sprayed, and residents are being told how to fight the dengue carrying mosquitoes. A health official in Punjab said they now know that the dengue virus can be spread in cold winter temps.

Back over to South America, in Bolivia, the city of Santa Cruz confirmed 157 cases of dengue.  There are another 820 suspected cases. They have declared a red alert.

Also on February 25, the UN’s World Heath Organization reported that after 50 years of fighting the disease, cases of dengue in Thailand and Sri Lanka have only increased!

“The floods actually interrupted the Aeges aegypti’s life cycle and has resulted in a reduction in dengue.”-Sanphet Mahamard, Communicable Disease Control Department of Thailand

However, Thai officials say the massive flooding, at the end of 2011, has actually destroyed the breeding grounds of many of the dengue carrying mosquitoes.  So thanks to Mother Earth, they are already seeing a 36% drop in dengue cases (keep in mind that as of January 2012 Thailand has seen more than 1,000 cases and one death).

In Sri Lanka, officials are so determined to reduce dengue cases that they’re even going after business owners who don’t control mosquitoes on their property!

The Chief Technical Engineer of the railway yard of Sri Lanka Railways was fined, and is in prison, after 20 employees got sick, and one employee died, from dengue fever. Investigators discovered that railway officials did not conduct anti-mosquito programs on their property.

There is no vaccine (although Mexico is testing one of their own vaccines), and it turns out the mosquito eggs can survive a full year, even in cold temperatures.  Also, research showed that the mosquitoes are attracted to the light of energy saving florescent light bulbs.