Brazil: City of São Paulo confirms first dengue death in 11-year-old girl

The Health Surveillance Coordination (Covisa), of the Municipal Health Department of São Paulo, confirmed the first death from dengue fever in the capital this year. The victim is an 11-year-old girl, resident of the Hermelino Matarazzo region, in the east zone. She died on January 30 and her death was announced this Monday, Feb. 10 by the municipal administration body.

This year alone, the city of São Paulo has registered 4,645 cases of dengue fever. With the increase in cases, the Municipal Secretariat announced that it will prioritize active search efforts to administer the second dose of the vaccine against the disease. The target audience for immunization is children and adolescents aged 10 to 14.

So far, only 38% of the target audience, in the 10 to 14 age group, considered a priority by the agency, have taken both doses of the vaccine. It is estimated that 600,000 people live in this age group in the capital.

According to the Ministry of Health, the state of São Paulo accounts for the majority of cases of infection. There have been 157,783 probable cases this year. There have been about 60 deaths and another 200 cases are under investigation at the Adolfo Lutz Institute. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health has registered 269,919 cases, with 303 deaths under investigation and 85 confirmed cases.