A public hearing promoted by the Health and Science and Technology committees of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), on March 13, discussed the panorama of dengue in the state and actions to improve the fight against the problem.

With the theme 'Science and technology in the fight against dengue and presentation of the current scenario of the epidemic by the State Department of Health (SES)', the event was attended by researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz).

Watch the session.

The head of the Laboratory of Physiology and Control of Arthropod Vectors at the IOC, Jose Bento Pereira Lima, addressed mosquito surveillance Aedes aegytpi, transmitter of dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

The researcher detailed the project to monitor the insect using traps called ovitraps, which allows the identification of areas with the greatest infestation to direct control actions. 

Implemented in 14 municipalities in Rio, the project is in partnership with SES-RJ and the Ministry of Health for expansion to other locations.

The head of the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory at the IOC, Felipe Gomes Naveca, represented the president of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Mario Moreira, at the event.

The researcher reinforced F's commitmentiocwith the fight against dengue. Among other actions, he recalled the work of the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory of the IOC as a Regional Reference Laboratory for Arboviruses with the Ministry of Health.

Naveca cited the role of the Reference Laboratory in supporting arbovirus diagnostic actions in the state and in the development of the kit for molecular diagnosis of dengue, Zika and chikungunya, produced by the Institute of Molecular Biology of Paraná (IBMP) and the Institute of Technology in Immunobiologicals (Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz). 

The partnership with IOC was highlighted in the speech of the superintendent of Strategic Information in Health Surveillance at SES-RJ, Luciane Velasque, who presented the dengue scenario in the state.

In addition to the Aedes surveillance project using ovitraps, Velasque cited the investigation into arbovirus infection in adult mosquitoes, coordinated by the researcher at the Laboratory of Virus-Host Interactions of the IOC, Nildimar Honório.

The public hearing was coordinated by deputy Elika Takimoto (PT), president of the Science and Technology Commission of Alerj, and by deputies Tande Vieira (PP) and Vitor Júnior (PDT), respectively, president and vice-president of the Health Commission of Alerj. House.

In addition to members of SES-RJ, the event was attended by representatives of scientific institutions in the state and professional categories involved in dengue control, such as health agents and those fighting endemic diseases. Da Fiocruz, researcher Ariane Larentis, from the National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca (Ensp/Fiocruz).