The state of Rio de Janeiro already has 4.446 probable cases of dengue in the first 16 days of 2024 alone. The number is more than double the 1.635 cases recorded in the entire month of January 2023.
The data is from the panel Arboviruses, from the State Department of Health (SES-RJ). The tool was developed by the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz) and by SES, with the aim of facilitating data visualization and monitoring of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti.
Panel available on the state Department of Health website reinforces transparency of data on arboviruses. Photo: Disclosure
Currently, the online panel presents information on dengue and chikungunya for the state's 92 municipalities. Data on Zika can also be displayed, but there were no confirmed cases this summer.
The platform was created by veterinarian Paula Almeida, a technician from the Superintendency of Strategic Health Surveillance Information (Supievs/SES-RJ), as part of the doctoral project developed in the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine of the IOC.
The work was guided by researchers Nildimar Honório, from the Virus-Host Interactions Laboratory of the IOC, and Aline Nobre, from the Scientific Computing Program at Fioccross (PROCC/Fiocruz).
The panel seeks to gather, in an accessible way, important information for decision-making. In addition to numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, indicators, graphs and maps are presented, which help to detect trends and identify priority areas for action. The contextualization of data is one of the tool’s differentiators.
“We have several health information systems, which present raw data on urban arboviruses, but it is necessary to transform this data into information, through the analysis of indicators, to understand what these numbers mean”, highlights Paula.
“For example, if we have a number of dengue cases, we need to analyze the data in relation to the population of the municipality, considering the trajectory of the disease over time, the context of the region and the state. All of this is available on the panel”, he adds.
Notifications of dengue cases at the beginning of 2024 already exceed January 2023. The tool offers several options for visualizing data. Photo: Reproduction Arboviruses Panel
Information about the profile of patients affected by the diseases and the dengue virus serotypes detected in the municipalities is also available on the platform, which allows data to be viewed by city and health region in the state.
In addition to dynamic data, updated weekly, the panel presents stratification of areas at epidemiological risk for the transmission of arboviruses in the state, carried out based on the methodology developed by the IOC In the project ArboAlvo.
Documents guiding state policies for health problems can be accessed on the platform.
“The panel uses data to generate information and knowledge, which can support discussions and direct surveillance and vector control actions. It is also an instrument that reinforces the transparency of public data, facilitating access to information for managers, professionals in the field and the population”, highlights Nildimar.
The research that gave rise to the panel analyzed cases of arboviruses registered in Rio de Janeiro between 2010 and 2019. The period was critical for diseases transmitted by Aedes, with five dengue epidemics and the first outbreaks of chikungunya and Zika in the state.
The study revealed heterogeneous transmission patterns of the three urban arboviruses, both in time and space.
“Some municipalities recorded simultaneous epidemics of dengue, Zika and/or chikungunya, but this did not occur throughout the state”, comments Paula.
Analysis of arbovirus cases in RJ between 2010 and 2019 allowed stratifying areas at risk for diseases. Photo: Reproduction Arboviruses Panel
Dengue has proven to be the most persistent arbovirus, alternating between endemic cycles, with less circulation, and epidemic cycles, with high incidence. Zika had an explosive behavior, spreading rapidly between 2015 and 2016. Chikungunya caused localized outbreaks in 2016 and 2018 and reached the state widely in 2019.
The stratification of risk areas showed the importance of hub cities in the state's metropolitan regions, especially Rio de Janeiro, Niterói and São Gonçalo, considered high-risk areas for dengue.
At the same time, he warned of the need for attention to municipalities with small populations that record a high incidence of diseases, as observed in Noroeste Fluminense.
The results reinforced the need to monitor the spread of diseases in time and space, using visualization tools such as the arbovirus panel.
The tool was released by the state Department of Health in January 2023 and detailed in the thesis 'Analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of urban arboviruses - dengue, chikungunya and Zika- in the state of Rio de Janeiro during the years 2010 to 2019', defended in August of the same year.
The research findings were also published in scientific articles in journals V e Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.
“This is a successful case of research that, in addition to advancing knowledge, manages to become public policy. It also demonstrates the importance of cooperation between federal, state and municipal agencies to face public health challenges”, highlights Nildimar.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Photo: Josué Damacena
The platform uses data from the National Notifiable Diseases System (Sinan) of the Ministry of Health.
In addition to regularly updating the data, the teams from Supievs and the Superintendency of Public Health Emergencies (Supesp), which are part of the Health Intelligence Center (CIS/SES-RJ), have been expanding the analyzes available on the arbovirus panel.
Example: recently, the platform started to present an estimate of disease cases considering the delay in notifications, called 'nowcasting', which takes into account the time between the onset of symptoms and the official registration of cases.
"We managed to combine the interest of research and service, which supported the project 100%. Today, the information from the panel serves as the basis for meetings in the dengue situation room and supports the state's nine health regions", points out Paula.
The study was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Faperj), through the project 'Urban arboviruses and their vectors: active surveillance integrating entomology, epidemiology and virology in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro', coordinated by Nildimar.
It also received support from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), through the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine.
Find out more about the vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika and ways to combat it in the video 'Aedes in 2 minutes'.
Know the strategy '10 minutes against Aedes', designed based on the scientific knowledge of experts from the IOC, to combat arboviruses.
The state of Rio de Janeiro already has 4.446 probable cases of dengue in the first 16 days of 2024 alone. The number is more than double the 1.635 cases recorded in the entire month of January 2023.
The data is from the panel Arboviruses, from the State Department of Health (SES-RJ). The tool was developed by the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz) and by SES, with the aim of facilitating data visualization and monitoring of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti.
Panel available on the state Department of Health website reinforces transparency of data on arboviruses. Photo: Disclosure
Currently, the online panel presents information on dengue and chikungunya for the state's 92 municipalities. Data on Zika can also be displayed, but there were no confirmed cases this summer.
The platform was created by veterinarian Paula Almeida, a technician from the Superintendency of Strategic Health Surveillance Information (Supievs/SES-RJ), as part of the doctoral project developed in the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine of the IOC.
The work was guided by researchers Nildimar Honório, from the Virus-Host Interactions Laboratory of the IOC, and Aline Nobre, from the Scientific Computing Program at Fioccross (PROCC/Fiocruz).
The panel seeks to gather, in an accessible way, important information for decision-making. In addition to numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, indicators, graphs and maps are presented, which help to detect trends and identify priority areas for action. The contextualization of data is one of the tool’s differentiators.
“We have several health information systems, which present raw data on urban arboviruses, but it is necessary to transform this data into information, through the analysis of indicators, to understand what these numbers mean”, highlights Paula.
“For example, if we have a number of dengue cases, we need to analyze the data in relation to the population of the municipality, considering the trajectory of the disease over time, the context of the region and the state. All of this is available on the panel”, he adds.
Notifications of dengue cases at the beginning of 2024 already exceed January 2023. The tool offers several options for visualizing data. Photo: Reproduction Arboviruses Panel
Information about the profile of patients affected by the diseases and the dengue virus serotypes detected in the municipalities is also available on the platform, which allows data to be viewed by city and health region in the state.
In addition to dynamic data, updated weekly, the panel presents stratification of areas at epidemiological risk for the transmission of arboviruses in the state, carried out based on the methodology developed by the IOC In the project ArboAlvo.
Documents guiding state policies for health problems can be accessed on the platform.
“The panel uses data to generate information and knowledge, which can support discussions and direct surveillance and vector control actions. It is also an instrument that reinforces the transparency of public data, facilitating access to information for managers, professionals in the field and the population”, highlights Nildimar.
The research that gave rise to the panel analyzed cases of arboviruses registered in Rio de Janeiro between 2010 and 2019. The period was critical for diseases transmitted by Aedes, with five dengue epidemics and the first outbreaks of chikungunya and Zika in the state.
The study revealed heterogeneous transmission patterns of the three urban arboviruses, both in time and space.
“Some municipalities recorded simultaneous epidemics of dengue, Zika and/or chikungunya, but this did not occur throughout the state”, comments Paula.
Analysis of arbovirus cases in RJ between 2010 and 2019 allowed stratifying areas at risk for diseases. Photo: Reproduction Arboviruses Panel
Dengue has proven to be the most persistent arbovirus, alternating between endemic cycles, with less circulation, and epidemic cycles, with high incidence. Zika had an explosive behavior, spreading rapidly between 2015 and 2016. Chikungunya caused localized outbreaks in 2016 and 2018 and reached the state widely in 2019.
The stratification of risk areas showed the importance of hub cities in the state's metropolitan regions, especially Rio de Janeiro, Niterói and São Gonçalo, considered high-risk areas for dengue.
At the same time, he warned of the need for attention to municipalities with small populations that record a high incidence of diseases, as observed in Noroeste Fluminense.
The results reinforced the need to monitor the spread of diseases in time and space, using visualization tools such as the arbovirus panel.
The tool was released by the state Department of Health in January 2023 and detailed in the thesis 'Analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of urban arboviruses - dengue, chikungunya and Zika- in the state of Rio de Janeiro during the years 2010 to 2019', defended in August of the same year.
The research findings were also published in scientific articles in journals V e Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.
“This is a successful case of research that, in addition to advancing knowledge, manages to become public policy. It also demonstrates the importance of cooperation between federal, state and municipal agencies to face public health challenges”, highlights Nildimar.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Photo: Josué Damacena
The platform uses data from the National Notifiable Diseases System (Sinan) of the Ministry of Health.
In addition to regularly updating the data, the teams from Supievs and the Superintendency of Public Health Emergencies (Supesp), which are part of the Health Intelligence Center (CIS/SES-RJ), have been expanding the analyzes available on the arbovirus panel.
Example: recently, the platform started to present an estimate of disease cases considering the delay in notifications, called 'nowcasting', which takes into account the time between the onset of symptoms and the official registration of cases.
"We managed to combine the interest of research and service, which supported the project 100%. Today, the information from the panel serves as the basis for meetings in the dengue situation room and supports the state's nine health regions", points out Paula.
The study was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Faperj), through the project 'Urban arboviruses and their vectors: active surveillance integrating entomology, epidemiology and virology in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro', coordinated by Nildimar.
It also received support from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), through the Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine.
Find out more about the vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika and ways to combat it in the video 'Aedes in 2 minutes'.
Know the strategy '10 minutes against Aedes', designed based on the scientific knowledge of experts from the IOC, to combat arboviruses.
The non-profit reproduction of the text is allowed as long as the source is cited (Comunicação / Instituto Oswaldo Cruz)
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