The Brazilian Ministry of Health is reporting that 750,000 cases of Dengue fever have been confirmed in the country of 200 million people since January 1, 2015, with 229 deaths. Hardest hit has been Sao Paulo.
But the epidemic of the mosquito-borne virus is fanning anger over President Dilma Rousseff’s biggest problem, the country’s failing national Health care system. Health Minister Arthur Chioro is partly blaming the epidemic on a severe drought in southeast Brazil.
Chioro says that in Sao Paulo, where dengue is most prevalent, many people have been storing water in open containers for fear their water pipes would run dry, perfect breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a vector for dengue, Yellow Fever, and Chikungunya.
While the situation in Sao Paulo is true, many people still say the Brazilian government is at fault, not for causing the epidemic but for having a poor health care system. With Rousseff’ slipping in the polls to a 19 percent approval rating, people are blaming government corruption for the lack of needed medical care.
Brazil’s constitution promises universal health care to its people, but the system is underfunded and poorly managed. In 2014, Rousseff’s government budgeted $3.3 million to explore ways to combat dengue. Because of a lack of good projects, only 60 percent of the funds were used.
The opposition party in the Brazilian Senate called out Chioro, wanting to know why the funds weren’t spent. Recent polls have shown that Brazilians say the biggest problem in the country is health care or a lack of this essential item. This is in addition to a probable recession and the corruption scandal with the state-run oil company, Petrobras.
Hopefully. the epidemic is seeing its last days. Health authorities said on May 5th the dengue epidemic has peaked and more favorable weather conditions are making it less favorable for mosquitoes. Brazil is also currently testing three vaccines for the dengue fever. There is hope they will have an effective vaccine available by 2016.
