Rio de Janeiro declares a dengue health emergency days ahead of Carnival

Rio de Janeiro city authorities have declared a public health emergency in the city because of an outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever. The announcement came just days before Carnival celebrations kick off across Brazil. But the outbreak wasn’t expected to derail Carnival, which officially starts on Friday evening and runs until Feb. 14. Rio city hall announced the opening of 10 care centers, the creation of an emergency operations center and the allocation of hospital beds for dengue patients. Authorities will also use “smoke cars” in regions with the highest incidence of cases to diffuse an insecticide in the air.