Will Dengue Outbreaks Derail Brazil's Tourism Industry

Brazil's health officials are concerned about an unprecedented number of dengue cases reported in early 2024—more than one million. Traditionally, Brazil's dengue cases peak between March and May.

As reported by the AP, Brazil declared public health emergencies in Acre, Minas Gerais, Goias, and the Federal District in February 2024 to increase awareness.

According to the Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro, the "Against Dengue Every Day" campaign included the distribution of repellents, stickers, bandanas, and hats with warnings about the mosquito-transmitted disease.

Rio is a very popular vacation destination for events such as Carnival, receiving about 2 million foreign tourists.

The AP also reported that a section of Rio deployed the Wolbachia technique, also known as the Incompatible Insect Technique, and is seeing initial, positive results.

This biological method uses Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to reduce the number of mosquitoes that spread vector-borne diseases. This method has been tested in the United States since 2016, initially in Miami, Florida.

In addition to genetically modifying local mosquitoes, Brazil has been offering dengue vaccinations.

Brazil became the first Latin American country to include the second-generation QDENGA® (TAK-003) vaccine in its public health system. The government plans to administer over 5 million doses in 2024.

This dengue vaccine does not require pre-admission testing.

To expand access, Biological E. Limited committed in February 2024 to manufacturing up to 50 million QDENGA doses annually, accelerating the vaccine's owner Takeda's ability to deliver 100 million doses annually by 2030.

As of March 30, 2024, QDENGA is unavailable in the United States.