Background & objectives: Dengue is one of the most important arboviruses and public health problem associated with increasingly large outbreaks, especially in tropical countries such as Brazil. The state of Minas Gerais, in particular, has had high numbers of cases of this infection in recent years.
Methods: Our study evaluated the epidemiological impact of dengue fever in the state of Minas Gerais from the National Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS) perspective between 2000 to 2015 using the Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN, notification cases) and Hospital Information System (SIH)/SUS (hospitalization registers) databases.
Results: The SUS database recorded 34,996 reports of dengue (International Classification of Diseases [ICD]: A90) as well as 1984 verified cases of severe dengue (ICD-A91). These hospitalizations for dengue and cases of severe dengue generally affected individuals aged 15-24 (17.74%) and 5-14 (20.86%) years, respectively. The epidemiological burden of dengue was substantial in Minas Gerais state, with the highest number of notifications nationally in 2013.
Interpretation & conclusion: From retrospective data associated with dengue records, our study sought to better highlight the locations with the largest number of dengue cases in the Minas Gerais state, and contribute to direct educational and surveillance actions of these regions applied to this infection.
Keywords: Arbovirus; Brazil; Dengue; Epidemiology; Minas Gerais; Public Health.