Urbanization and Health in Brazil: Aspects of Dengue Fever Epidemics

Roberto Luiz do Carmo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

This paper provides an overview of the Brazil´s urbanization process implications on health, considering specifically the case of dengue fever epidemics. The analysis shows that there are many factors acting to occurrence of dengue fever epidemic: lack of urban infrastructure, climatic variations, gap between the knowledge and practice in the mosquitoes control, problems in the organization of the health system, political discontinuities, and cultural aspects. Depends on the situation, if any of these factors become more significant, the epidemic becomes a threat. The rapid urbanization process put several difficulties for dengue fever eradication in the country. In this context, a significant epidemic of hemorrhagic dengue fever is a serious possibility.