Health workers in Belo Horizonte fumigate homes, business as dengue surges

Also in Brazil, health workers fumigate homes and business against dengue fever. Brazil saw a 57-percent increase in dengue cases last year from 2022.

And it registered 56,000 cases in the first two weeks of 2024, double the number from 2023. Six people have died of the disease so far this year. As a sharp rise in cases of the potentially deadly disease raised fears of a runaway outbreak, Brazil starts a vaccination campaign against the virus this month, administering the newly approved "Qdenga" vaccine.

The World Health Organization recommended last year that Qdenga be issued to children ages six to 16 in dengue hotspots. Brazil will be the first in the world to offer the new vaccing through the public health system, officials said.