(Picture: Rodrigo Méxas and Raquel Portugal/Fiocruz Imagens)

Summer officially came a few days ago, accompanied by the possibility of an increase in dengue, zika and chikungunya cases, three of the most common arboviruses in Brazil. The scenario that usually raises concerns can become critical due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a context that increases the importance of mapping actions and educational work amongst the population.

One of these initiatives is the InfoDengue program, coordinated by Researcher Claudia Codeço, of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). Today, the platform monitors 1,827 Brazilian cities and helps municipal and state departments of health to maintain focus on actions and anticipate possible epidemics. As a result of a partnership with Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), InfoDengue has been in operation since 2015 and recently entered into a partnership with the states of Minas Gerais, Maranhão, and the city of Porto Alegre.

The consolidation and expansion of the system are within the objectives of a Fiocruz project aimed at strengthening the integrated surveillance of arboviruses, coordinated by the Researcher Rivaldo Venâncio da Cunha. In addition to strengthening InfoDengue, the project supported by Fiotec aims to expand the use of Wild Health Information System ( Sistema de Informação em Saúde Silvestre, SISS Geo) platform and the implementation of SISS Geo SUS Brazil for sanitary surveillance of wild and other types of zoonosis.

The health education and awareness in order to reinforce the importance of removing breeding sites from homes are also part of the project activities. Audiovisual materials focused on the population are going to be produced, which will address the life cycles of the transmitter vectors of the main arboviruses circulating in Brazil. At home, we can already do our part to eliminate possible breeding sites of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue, zika and chikungunya by:

• covering water barrels and tanks;
• keeping the gutters clean;
• keeping empty bottles upside down;
• keeping trash cans well covered;
• keeping drains clean and covered with meshes;
• filling planter saucers with sand or clean them weekly;
• cleaning the water dishes of your pets with a brush or sponge; and
• drying out any water accumulated in the laundry/utility room, behind the washing machine.

With information from Fiocruz News Agency (Agência Fiocruz de Notícias, AFN) and the National Supplementary Health Agency (Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar, ANS).