Disease

Dengue immunization program begins in Paraná, Brazil

A half-million doses of Dengvaxia, the dengue fever vaccine from Sanofi Pasteur, have been received in Paraná to support a large-scale public dengue immunization program initiated today in the State’s 30 most highly endemic municipalities.

Paraná State, home to 10 million people, has seen a steep 3-fold increase in both dengue incidence and deaths in recent years. In the last year, there have been 55,000 cases reported, costing the State an estimated R$ 330 million (~91 M Euro) in related healthcare expenses.

Zika Virus

According to Puerto Rico Department of Health, as of Aug 12 there have been 10,690 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika in Puerto Rico. At the request of Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell on Friday declared a public health emergency for the Commonwealth, signaling that the current spread of Zika virus poses a significant threat to public health in the Commonwealth relating to pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika. The declaration is a tool that provides support to the government of Puerto Rico to address the outbreak on the island and underscores the public health risk of Zika, particularly to pregnant women and women of childbearing age.

In Florida, Department of Health officials reported an additional three new non-travel related cases today in Miami-Dade County. Two of the individuals were exposed in the less than one-square mile in Miami-Dade County. The third new non-travel related infection is located outside of the one-square mile area in Miami-Dade County. The department still believes active transmissions are only taking place within the identified area that is less than one-square mile in Miami-Dade County. This brings the total locally transmitted cases to 28.