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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 112, No. 8, 2017, pp. 583-585
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Bioline Code: oc17082
Full paper language: English
Document type: Letter to the Editor
Document available free of charge
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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 112, No. 8, 2017, pp. 583-585
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Surveillance of deaths caused by arboviruses in Brazil: from dengue to chikungunya
Cavalcanti, Luciano Pamplona de Góes; Freitas, André Ricardo Ribas; Brasil, Patrícia & Cunha, Rivaldo Venâncio da
Abstract
Did death occur DUE TO dengue, or in a patient
WITH dengue virus infection? It seems a matter of semantics,
but in fact, it underscores how challenging it is
to distinguish whether the disease contributed to death,
or was itself the underlying cause of death. Can a death
be attributed to chikungunya virus, when some deaths
occur after the acute phase? Did the virus decompensate
the underlying diseases, leading to death? Did prolonged
hospitalisation lead to infection, resulting in the patient’s
progression to death? Were there iatrogenic complications
during patient care? The dengue question, for which
there has not yet been a definitive response, resurfaces
prominently under the chikungunya surveillance scenario.
We are facing an epidemic of a disease that seems to
be more lethal than previously thought. The major challenge
ahead is to investigate deaths suspected of occurring
due to arbovirus infections and to understand the
role of each infection in the unfavourable outcome.
Keywords
surveillance; death; arboviruses; dengue; chikungunya
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