Hundreds Infected With Mosquito-Borne Virus

SÃO PAULO, Brazil—Inhabitants of this megacity, suffering through the worst drought in decades, have unwittingly contributed to an outbreak of dengue fever by storing scarce water in open containers.

The tropical mosquito-borne virus, which often results in high fever, intense muscle pain and convulsions, has killed at least 17 people in São Paulo state in the first six weeks of 2015. That’s up from just three deaths through mid-February of 2014, according to national health officials. Suspected cases have surged tenfold to 51,849 over the same period.

Dengue is a persistent problem in Brazil, particularly during the peak of the rainy season, which is January and February in the nation’s populous southeast. But health officials blame human behavior for this year’s surge. While drought-ravaged São Paulo has yet to declare official water rationing, the main water utility has reduced pressure in the pipes to force conservation, a strategy that has cut off running water to millions of customers for hours, even days at a stretch. Residents have responded by hoarding water in open buckets, watering cans and other makeshift containers. Paradoxically, they’ve created a water-borne paradise for mosquitoes to breed in the midst of an epic drought.

“It’s worrying now because it’s hard to control how people store water,” said Jose Gomes Temporao, former health minister and executive director of South American Institute of Government in Health. “This creates a risk not just for dengue but for chikungunya,” another mosquito-borne virus that cause fever, rashes and joint pains that can last for months, even years.

The outbreak has sparked panic in the city of São Paulo, where 563 cases of the disease have been confirmed through mid-February, a 163% increase from the same period a year ago. Health officials have dispatched some 2,500 agents to go door-to-door and educate residents on prevention measures, such as filling potted plants with sand, keeping containers dry and swimming pools covered.

Local media have featured photos of pro soccer players being doused with bug spray before venturing into matches. Residents are snapping up repellent, mosquito netting, insect zappers and foggers in a bid to keep the mosquitoes from biting.

At Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Brazil’s largest retailer, sales of insecticides increased 11% in January and February, versus the same period of 2014, a spokeswoman said. Small merchants, too, are reporting strong demand for drought-related wares. Sales of bottled water and repellent are up 20% over the past three months, according to Fabio Hideki, who owns a small market near São Paulo’s city center. He said particularly hot sellers are cartridges of insecticide that plug into a wall socket that can last for up to 45 days.

“People are afraid of dengue,” he said. “They are very concerned about mosquitoes.”

Conditions are even worse in some parts of São Paulo state. More than 1,600 cases have been reported in recent days in Soracaba, a city of about 600,000 residents located 60 miles west of São Paulo, leading officials there to declare it an “epidemic.”

Soracaba resident Tania Pascole said she and her 19-year-old son are slathering on bug spray to ward off dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

“Everyone has a friend or a family member who’s gotten the disease,” the 44-year-old secretary said. “We’ve always been careful, but this year we’re taking extra precautions. We apply repellent basically all day. Thank God, my son and I haven’t been infected.”

Other families haven’t been so fortunate. Renata Ferreira Correa Fabri lost her 45-year-old sister to the disease on Saturday.

A resident of Limeira, about 90 miles northwest of São Paulo, Ms. Fabri said her sister, Paula Ferreira Correa Ponte, went to the hospital last week complaining of body aches. Doctors suspected Ms. Ponte had dengue and sent her home under orders to hydrate and rest. But her condition worsened, Ms. Fabri said, and her sister was readmitted to the hospital, where she died of cardiac arrest.

The grief-stricken family is now scrambling to figure out how to care for Paula’s 5-year-old son, who is now an orphan.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com and Loretta Chao at loretta.chao@wsj.com

http://www.wsj.com/articles/drought-stricken-sao-paulo-battles-dengue-fever-outbreak-1425420508