Dengue fever threatens football World Cup in Brazil

Expert warns of dengue threat at World Cup in Brazil

11/30/2013

More than three million tickets for the 2014 FIFA World Cup should be sold. If you only want to get infected with football fever in the coming year in Brazil, but not with dengue fever, you should protect yourself. A British researcher warns against a high risk of infection, especially for three venues.

Warning especially for three venues
On June 12, 2014, the twentieth World Cup starts in Brazil. In total, more than three million tickets are to be sold and more than 500,000 international fans are expected. Those traveling to the South American country should pay attention to adequate protection against dengue fever such as long clothing, sheltered windows and bug spray. For Brazil and especially for the three venues Fortaleza, Natal and Salvador there is an increased risk of infection. This is indicated by a British researcher from the University of Oxford in the Science Journal „Nature“ down.

Highlight during the games
Epidemiology Professor Simon Hay writes in the Opinion that the risk of infection in the three cities, which are all in the northeast of the country, is expected to peak at the time of the Games. Based on the illnesses of recent years, the researcher and his colleagues had estimated the risk of infection for the various Brazilian regions. As a result, most of the venues will reach the peak of dengue spread before the World Cup. According to Hay, however, this does not apply to the northeast. However, he points out that this situation, like the weather, can not be accurately predicted.

Avoid mosquito bites
In its annual report, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50 to 100 million diseases are affected worldwide each year. Hay estimates that there are three times as many. Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes and is manifested by symptoms such as fever, skin rash and severe headache, muscle and joint pain and can lead to death. To date, there is no effective vaccine and no specific drugs for dengue fever. According to Hay, the best option is to avoid mosquito bites. Therefore, the researchers advises fans who will travel to the risk areas next year to choose hotels with protected doors and windows as well as air conditioning. In addition, especially in the early morning and in the late afternoon, you should wear long clothes and protect yourself with special anti-mosquito sprays.

Researcher appeals to the World Cup officials
The British professor also calls on the authorities to fumigate mosquitoes in the worst affected areas and make their reproduction difficult. As the mosquitoes multiply in stagnant water, Hay points out to eliminate pools, including on wild garbage dumps. He also calls on the Brazilian government to inform the World Football Organization (FIFA) and sponsors of the competition, fans about the dengue risk and preventive measures. In contrast to the inhabitants of tropical areas many visitors, including from Europe, the disease is not familiar. Therefore, those responsible should use their experience and influence to educate.

Over 500 deaths in Brazil
The main transmitter of dengue fever is the mosquito Stegomyia aegypti, which is widely distributed in humid, tropical areas. It can also carry the virus from person to person. According to the Pan-American Health Organization, 522 people have already died of dengue fever in Brazil this year. Central America is also suffering from a serious epidemic and numerous deaths have occurred in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. In more than 100 countries, the virus is rampant worldwide. Often the course of the disease is harmless and tropical medicine assume that many people who return home will not recognize the illness. However, it could also lead to a serious, fatal disease course with numerous bleeding and circulatory failure. This mainly affects children living in the affected areas and persons with repeated infections.

Number of infected increased dramatically
In 2012, a total of 615 cases of dengue fever were reported to the German Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The figure is comparatively small considering that around three million Germans travel to potential risk areas each year. However, the number of dengue fever-infected is „dramatically increased in the past decades worldwide“, as it is called in the World Health Statistics 2013 of the UN. More than 700 patients were reported to the RKI this year, all of whom had been infected abroad, most of them in Thailand. Anyone who wants to find out about the current dengue risk in a specific tropical region can use the so-called „HealthMap“ use. It is a project of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and a Boston Children's Hospital team that collect data on dengue outbreaks worldwide and make them freely available on the Internet. (Ad)