Dengue: Vaccines to the rescue

Last year alone, more than 50,000 people in Brazil were hospitalized for dengue fever, and 1,094 deaths were reported.

The country had 1.6 million registered cases of dengue, a significant increase of 16 percent compared to 2022.

These numbers have raised concerns among experts and civil society, with debates about possible solutions to curb the spread of the mosquito and also to deal with the disease itself.

With this in mind, Brazil’s Health Ministry last month announced the purchase of Qdenga, a Japanese-made vaccine that will be distributed via the country’s public health system.

Although some logistical problems have been identified due to the price and small quantities of the vaccine offered by Takeda, the company responsible for its production, the Brazilian ministry plans to vaccinate 2.5 million people who will be part of a priority group.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s renowned Butantan Institute, owned by the São Paulo state government, will complete the final phase of research on its own dengue vaccine this year. During the Covid pandemic, Butantan played a major role in Brazil’s vaccination campaign.

Brazil has a strong tradition of vaccination and is counting on it to fight back against dengue fever.

Check out the creation of this cartoon on The Brazilian Report’s TikTok account (@brazilianreport).

Jika and Lucas Berti

‘Jika’ is a French freelance illustrator and a photographer. She has a wide range of influences and is able to go from minimalist to highly sophisticated sci-fi-style cartoons. Being something of a global citizen, hopping from city to city on a regular business, her source of inspiration is limitless. She's currently working on a comic book project.