At least 1,775 people died from the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, in Brazil between Jan. 1 and Aug. 13, the Ministry of Health announced Thursday.
According to the data, Brazil is seeing the highest level of deaths from the virus since 2009, when the World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic, which killed 2,060 people that year in the country.
Brazil’s most populous state of Sao Paulo has seen most deaths with 737, followed by the southern states of Parana, 206 deaths, and Rio Grande do Sul, 182 deaths.
This year’s deaths far outstrip the low 36 deaths in 2015 and the 163 deaths in 2014.
The symptoms of swine flu, so named because it mutated to spread from pigs to humans, are high fever of over 39 degrees, coughing, intense head, muscular and joint pain, and irritation of the eyes.
In order to counter the spread of the virus, Brazilian states have accelerated vaccination campaigns, focusing particularly on vulnerable segments of the population, such as pregnant women, children and the elderly.
The rise in swine flu deaths is happening at a time when Brazil is also fighting an epidemic of the Zika virus.
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