Homeopathy and Collective Health: The Case of Dengue Epidemics

This paper describes experiences of the use of homeopathy in the prevention and treatment Dengue fever in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. May 2001, a single dose of the homeopathic remedy Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH was given to 40% of residents of the most highly affected neighborhood. Thereafter, Dengue incidence decreased by 81.5%, a highly significant decrease as compared with neighborhoods that did not receive homeopathic prophylaxis (p lower 0.0001). Between April and September 2007, a homeopathic complex composed of Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus 30cH, given to 20,000 city residents. This trial was aborted prematurely due to national political intervention; therefore, only partial and isolated data could be recorded. However, the results suggest that homeopathy may be effective in the prevention and treatment of Dengue epidemics. Keywords: Homeopathy; public health; Epidemic; Dengue.  Homeopatia e Saúde Coletiva: o caso da epidemia de Dengue Resumo Este artigo descreve a prescrição do tratamento homeopático na prevenção e tratamento da Dengue, na cidade de São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. Em Maio de 2001, uma dose única do medicamento Eupatorium perfoliatum 30 cH foi adminstrado a 40% dos moradores de uma das regiões mais afetadas pelo vírus. Observou-se uma redução de 81,5% na incidéncia da Dengue, resultado altamente significativo quando comparado com as regiões vizinhas que não receberam o tratamento homeopático (p menor 0.0001). Entre Abril e Setembro de 2007, foi administrado um complexo homeopático composto de Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus 30cH, para 20.000 moradores. O tratamento foi interrompido prematuramente devido àintervenção de órgãos oficial da Saúde. Em conseqüéncia disso, apenas dados parciais e isolados puderam ser obtidos. Mesmo assim, estes resultados sugerem que a Homeopatia pode ser efetiva na prevenção e tratamento da epidemia de Dengue. Palavras-chave: Homeopatia, Saúde Pública, Epidemia, Dengue.  Homeopatia y Salud Coletiva: el caso de la epidemia de Dengue. Resumen Este documento describe las experiencias de la utilización de la homeopatía en la prevención y el tratamiento del Dengue en São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brasil. En mayo de 2001, una sola dosis del remedio homeopático Eupatorium perfoliatum 30cH se dio a 40% de los residentes en los barrios más afectados. Posteriormente, la incidencia de dengue disminuyó en un 81,5%, una disminución muy significativa en comparación con los barrios que no recibiron la profilaxia homeopática (p menor 0,0001). Entre abril y septiembre de 2007, un complejo homeopático compuesto de Eupatorium perfoliatum, Phosphorus y Crotalus horridus 30cH, fue administrado a 20.000 residentes de la ciudad. Este tratamiento fue interrumpido prematuramente debido a la intervención de agencias governamentales de Salud, por lo tanto, sólo datos parciales y aislados pudieron ser registrados. Sin embargo, los resultados sugieren que la homeopatía puede ser eficaz en la prevención y el tratamiento de epidemias de dengue. Palabras-clave: Homeopatía, la salud pública; epidémico; dengue.  Correspondence author: Renan Marino, [email protected] How to cite this article: Marino R. Homeopathy and Collective Health: The Case of Dengue Epidemics. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited YYYY Mmm DD]; 7(25): 179-185. Available from: http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/312/373. ÂÂÂ

Factors associated with the occurrence of dengue epidemics in Brazil: a systematic review

Objective. To identify and describe broadly the factors related to the occurrence of dengue epidemics in Brazil. Methods. Systematic review of studies published in Medline, Lilacs, PubMed, Cochrane, BVS, Web of Science, Scopus, and thesis and dissertations databases using descriptors cataloged in DeCs and MeSH on dengue and factors associated with the occurrence of epidemics, published from 2008 to 2018. Results. Thirty-five studies carried out in the country were selected. The epidemics recorded in Brazil were associated and/or correlated with multiple factors such as environment, socioeconomic conditions, climate, and aspects related to the vector, among others. Conclusions. Dengue epidemics are complex and multifactorial. The continuity of the vector control actions was found to be relevant to the reduction of Aedes aegypti and for disease control. To contain the spread of the disease, effective measures are needed in all sectors, including health, education, economy, population, business, and government. Actions for the early detection of cases of the disease can prevent new outbreaks of epidemics.

Detection of Flaviviral-Like DNA Sequences in Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Collected From Argentina

Diseases caused by flaviviruses are a major public health burden across the world. In the past decades, South America has suffered dengue epidemics, the re-emergence of yellow fever and St. Louis encephalitis viruses, and the introduction of West Nile and Zika viruses. Many insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFs) that cannot replicate in vertebrate cells have recently been described. In this study, we analyzed field-collected mosquito samples from six different ecoregions of Argentina to detect flaviviruses. We did not find any RNA belonging to pathogenic flaviviruses or ISFs in adults or immature stages. However, flaviviral-like DNA similar to flavivirus NS5 region was detected in 83–100% of Aedes aegypti (L.). Despite being previously described as an ancient element in the Ae. aegypti genome, the flaviviral-like DNA sequence was not detected in all Ae. aegypti samples and sequences obtained did not form a monophyletic group, possibly reflecting the genetic diversity of mosquito populations in Argentina.

The co-epidemic of Dengue and COVID-19 in Brazil: between challenges in their management and the consequences of socioeconomic inequality

SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19, spread worldwide, reaching pandemic status in March 2020. In this scenario, dengue epidemics continue to impact endemic countries. Taking into account an increase in dengue cases worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic may signal a serious danger to global public health. In some countries the pandemic coincided with already installed dengue epidemics. Thus, understanding the collective constituents of arboviruses in pandemic times is fundamental for a significant analysis. The present work brings a narrative review elucidating important impacts resulting from the co-epidemic and its consequences in a broader perspective. Problems with the differential diagnosis of these infections are aggravating factors for the decision of clinical management and prognosis of infected individuals. In addition, socioeconomic characteristics and ethnicity are fundamental factors for both dengue transmission dynamics and COVID-19. It also stands out, a scenario that represents a high risk of collapse for health services in facing challenges for combating and managing resources. Therefore, we conclude that in order to overcome the crisis of simultaneous epidemics and their serious consequences, historical aspects and their relationship with the conditions of social vulnerability need to be taken into account, in addition to promoting specific actions for their combat.

Periodic synchronization of dengue epidemics in Thailand: the roles played by temperature and immunity

The spatial distribution of dengue and its vectors (spp. Aedes) may be the widest it has ever been, and projections suggest that climate change may allow the expansion to continue. However, the largest impacts of climate change on dengue might be in regions where the pathogen is already endemic. In these areas, the waxing and waning of immunity has a large impact on temporal dynamics of cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever. Here, we use 51 years of data across 72 provinces and characterise spatio-temporal patterns of dengue in Thailand, where dengue has caused almost 1.5 million cases over the last thirty years, and examine the roles played by temperature and dynamics of immunity in giving rise to those patterns. We find that timescales of multiannual oscillations in dengue vary in space and time and uncover an interesting spatial phenomenon: Thailand has experienced multiple, periodic synchronization events. We show that patterns in synchrony of dengue are consistent with those observed in temperature. Applying a temperature-driven dengue model, we explore how dynamics of immunity interact with temperature to produce the observed multiannual dynamics and patterns in synchrony. While multiannual oscillations are readily produced by immunity in absence of multiannual timescales in temperature, synchrony in temperature can synchronise dengue dynamics in different locations. However, at higher mean temperatures and lower seasonal variation, immune dynamics become more predominant, and dengue dynamics become more insensitive to multiannual fluctuations in temperature. These findings can help underpin predictions of disease patterns as global temperatures rise.

Relationship between influenza and dengue outbreaks, and subsequent bacterial sepsis in French Guiana: a time series analysis

Background: Influenza has been shown to increase the risk for severe bacterial infection, in the tropics the seasonality of influenza epidemics is less marked and this may not be the case. Dengue is often followed by prolonged asthenia and some physicians hypothesized increased susceptibility to infections based on anecdotal observations.Methods: Time series of influenza and dengue surveillance were confronted with bacterial sepsis admissions to test the hypotheses. Monthly surveillance data on influenza and dengue and aggregated sepsis data in Cayenne hospital were matched between 24/10/2007 and 27/09/2016. An ARIMA (1,0,1) model was used.Results: The series of the number of monthly cases of sepsis was positively associated with the monthly number of cases of influenza at time t (β=0.001, p=0.0359). Forecasts were imperfectly correlated with sepsis since influenza is not the only risk factor for sepsis. None of the ARIMA models showed a significant link between the dengue series and the sepsis series. Conclusions: There was thus no link between dengue epidemics and sepsis but it was estimated that for every 1,000 cases of flu there was one additional case of sepsis. In this tropical setting, influenza was highly seasonal, and improved vaccination coverage could have benefits on sepsis.

Seasonal patterns of dengue incidence in Thailand across the urban-rural gradient

In Southeast Asia, endemic dengue follows strong spatio-temporal patterns with major epidemics occurring every 2-5 years. However, important spatio-temporal variation in seasonal dengue epidemics remains poorly understood. Using 13 years (2003-2015) of dengue surveillance data from 926 districts in Thailand and wavelet analysis, we show that rural epidemics lead urban epidemics within a dengue season, both nationally and within health regions. However, local dengue fade-outs are more likely in rural areas than in urban areas during the off season, suggesting rural areas are not the source of viral dispersion. Simple dynamic models show that stronger seasonal forcing in rural areas could explain the inconsistency between earlier rural epidemics and dengue “over wintering” in urban areas. These results add important nuance to earlier work showing the importance of urban areas in driving multi-annual patterns of dengue incidence in Thailand. Feedback between geographically linked locations with markedly different ecology is key to explaining full disease dynamics across urban-rural gradient.