Sao Goncalo City Council

The municipality maintains mosquito control measures throughout the year

Unlike much of the country and the state of Rio de Janeiro, which has seen significant increases in cases of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, the city of São Gonçalo maintains low numbers of disease notifications and confirmations. The low population rates are a reflection of the ongoing, daily work of the Municipal Health and Civil Defense Department of Environmental Health Surveillance, which sprays pesticides on the streets and visits homes for Aedes infestations. Egyptian mosquitoes – vector of diseases.

São Goncalo has recorded 116 notifications and 17 confirmed cases of dengue fever this year as of October 18. Last year, there were 93 notifications and 18 confirmed cases. There have been no confirmed cases of Zika in the past two years. Of the 17 chikungunya notifications, four have been confirmed this year. In 2021, there were 19 notifications and three confirmed cases. In the past two years, there have been no confirmed deaths.

Dengue fever is under control in São Gonçalo. The recent rapid survey of Aedes aegypti (Lira) infection rates in the city, which was conducted between the 3rd and 7th of this month, indicated an index of 0.8 of the Building Infection Index (IIP), which is considered low for contamination risk. The survey was conducted at 22,467 properties out of the city’s 92 neighborhoods.

“The action of spraying insecticides in batches and with silencers to get rid of the Aedes aegypti mosquito continues throughout the year, not just in hot seasons. It does not only happen on rainy days. This helps control outbreaks and eliminate mosquitoes,” said Director of Environmental Health Monitoring, Edson Vieira. thus reducing the number of diseases it causes.

Another work done by environmental health monitoring teams is visits to homes by arbovirus control agents, who advise residents about potential mosquito breeding sites and how to eliminate them every two months in each dwelling. Agents also use larvicides in drains, water tanks, tubs, gutters, and anywhere else that might be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. If larvae are found, they kill and/or use larvicides, placing strainers in water tanks and traps to capture eggs, larvae, and adult mosquitoes.

Larvicide application is effective for two months. Therefore, a repeat visit is made during this period to prevent a further outbreak of the disease. In the period between visits to agents, it is very important for residents to conserve space, avoiding leaving standing water in new places. Any container can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Just take a drop of water,” Edson Vieira explained.

Despite the work, agents are still detecting outbreaks in homes and businesses, especially in water tanks without lids. Participation and awareness of the population is very important so that the results are always positive. The population also needs cooperation, constant monitoring and elimination of places that facilitate mosquito breeding (especially the accumulation of clean water) and their spread.

To keep the home away from vectors, it is important to clean gutters and drains, cover water tanks, place bottles and containers by mouth, fill dishes of potted plants with sand, and keep tarpaulins out of building materials and swimming pools at all times. Barrels and cans closed.

“Gonçalenses should pay attention and look around. They prefer to tour the yard every week and ignore and take care of everything that accumulates water. A female mosquito can lay up to 450 eggs at various points, which only takes a week to turn into a mosquito. The most important thing is Not allowing the carrier to be born.The director concluded by saying that it is about taking care of each individual, and it is a matter of conscience.

In addition to these two street and home services, there is also the work of agents from the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) group, who give lectures at churches, associations, schools and events and do outreach work in boxes. Teams from strategic points inspect and inspect scrapyards and shipyards. There is also a team that mobilizes, monitors and carries out tire collection in the city streets.

Environmental Watch also has an emergency service. Any citizen can contact the sector and request a visit in cases of infection with any carrier. Requests are processed, on average, within a week. In these cases, agents investigate the complaint and take action to eliminate the vector. Complaints can be submitted by calling the Environmental Monitoring Center (21) 3195-5198, ext. 1008, or Vector format (21) 2604-6446.

State and Brazil numbers – Rio has seen a 300% increase in dengue cases this year, according to a survey by the state health department, which compared January and October with the same period in 2021. The data also showed a 24% growth in the chikungunya record and more than 100% of the Zika. In 2022, the country had recorded 10,471 cases and 14 deaths from dengue as of October 16, and 611 notifications of people with chikungunya, with no deaths. In the previous year, there were 2,613 cases of infection and four deaths of dengue and 492 cases of chikungunya, which also did not cause deaths. Zika had 25 cases in 2021 and 58 cases in 2022, which caused no deaths.

In Brazil, potential dengue cases increased by 184.6% (1,362,125) compared to last year (478,574), as well as deaths, which increased by 290.1%: there were 909 in 2022, compared to 233 in 2021 The Chikungunya scene also saw a higher growth in total mortality. There were 76 this year versus 14 through October 2021, an increase of 442%. Regarding the Zika virus, although there were no deaths this year, the proportion of cases rose by 98.8% in 2022: there were 10,501 cases compared to 5,421 last year.