RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Health Ministry announced on Friday that the number of dengue fever cases registered from Jan. 1 to Feb. 13 in the country reached 108,640, up 109 percent from the same period in 2009.
The number of deaths by dengue fever was 31 in 2009, and 21 in the period of 2010 .
The Health Ministry denied that the country is undergoing a dengue fever epidemic, stating that about 70 percent of the cases are concentrated in only five states, which are Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Goias, in the midwestern region, and Acre and Rondonia, in the northern region.
According to Giovanini Coelho, who coordinates the Ministry's National Program for Dengue Fever Control, the rise in the dengue cases can be attributed to the high temperatures and heavy rains registered in the first six weeks of 2010.
Such weather conditions facilitate the reproduction of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the dengue fever.
Coelho admitted that while Brazil is not facing an epidemic, the situation warrants caution and worry, saying there is a risk of an epidemic this year.
"That is why we must intensify the actions to fight against the disease and warn the population and the governors," he said.
The ministry informed that the northeastern states, which usually register a rise in dengue fever cases from March on, were already alert of the problem and advised to increase prevention programs.
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