Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
11.12.2015
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
transparent image
The Aedes aegypti - the mosquito that transmits diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya fever and Zika virus - is originally from Egypt, Africa, and has been spreading throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world since the 16th century in Brazil , according to researchers, the vector also arrived during the colonial period. "The mosquito came in ships with slaves," explains the researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, USP, Margareth Capurro.
According to the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, the Aedes aegypti was described scientifically for the first time in 1762, when it was called Culex aegypti. The final name came in 1818, after the description of the genus Aedes. In Portugal, from the early 20th century, the mosquito was already considered a problem. At that time, however, the main concern was the transmission of yellow fever. "In the campaign against the fever, the Aedes aegypti has been eradicated from Brazil using chemical insecticide," recalls the researcher.
But it was not long mosquitoes come back and spread throughout the vast Brazilian territory. In mid-1980, the Aedes aegypti was reintroduced in the country, through species that came mostly from Singapore. Today, as scholars, speak on something eradication is unlikely. "The fact that we use many chemical insecticides made the most resistant mosquitoes are selected. The current strength of these vectors is too large. By the same token, we tend to reduce to the maximum the use of chemical insecticide, "says Capurro.
According to the indices of Rapid Assessment for Aedes aegypti (LIRAa) - which is based on data from October and November 2015 and collects information from 1,792 cities - a total of 199 municipalities are in dengue outbreak risk, Chikungunya and Zika virus due to the significant presence of Aedes aegypti. The classification, which is based on data compiled by the Ministry of Health, takes into account the fact that more than 4% of homes visited these locations were found mosquito larvae.
Check the status of your municipality:
List shows Aedes aegypti situation in Brazilian cities
In situation a bit less critical - 1% to 3.9% of the properties focusing mosquito - the ministry identified a total of 665 municipalities on alert. Other 928 were considered satisfactory rates - since these locations less than 1% of households had mosquito larvae.
The survey also identified the presence of the Aedes albopictus mosquito in 261 municipalities. This vector can also transmit chikungunya and Zika virus. "The Zika eventually tapering well to both types of aedes," said Caio Freiro, USP Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
Among the 18 capitals that the Ministry of Health received information about the presence of Aedes aegypti, only Rio Branco (AC) is at risk. Other seven are classified as "alert" and ten with "satisfactory levels".
* With information from TV Brazil
Source: Agency Brazil
To access the site Agency Brazil, click here.
Our news are taken in full of our partner sites. For this reason, we can not change their content even in cases of typographical errors.
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.