Rio de Janeiro suffering from dengue outbreak

RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio de Janeiro declared a public health emergency because of an outbreak of mosquitoborne dengue fever, the city announced Monday, just days before Carnival celebrations kick off across Brazil.

The outbreak wasn’t expected to derail Carnival, which officially starts Friday evening and runs until Feb. 14, but it has prompted a slew of special measures by the city in hopes of containing the illness.

Rio announced the opening of 10 care centers, the creation of an emergency operations center, and the allocation of hospital beds for dengue patients. Authorities also will use “smoke cars” in regions with the highest incidence of cases, diffusing an insecticide in the air.

Since the beginning of this year, the municipality has registered more than 10,000 dengue cases. That is just under half of the total cases recorded in 2023.

The announcement comes as tourists and revelers are pouring into Rio to take part in street parties and attend Carnival’s flamboyant parades.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes and is more common in tropical climates. Frequent rains and high temperatures, which accelerate the hatching of mosquito eggs and the development of larvae, make Rio susceptible to dengue outbreaks.

But the problem is national. The explosion of dengue cases across Brazil has caused at least four states to declare public health emergencies.