Brasília, February 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Health's Secretariat of Health Surveillance is meeting today in Goiânia (GO) to evaluate the National Dengue Fever Control Program (PNCD) in the states and municipalities that comprise the Center-West region. An evaluation will be made of all the activities developed in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District to prevent dengue fever epidemics.

The coordinator of the program, Geovanini Coelho, said that the meeting will evaluate the PNCD's performance in order to maintain adequate accompaniment and improve the way the campaign to combat the disease is being waged. "Control of dengue demands continuous action by the federal government, states, and municipalities to develop ways to eliminate the breeding grounds of the aedes aegypti mosquito," Coelho said. He informed that the program's activities led to a 50% reduction in cases of the disease in Brazil last year, in comparison with 2002. But, according to him, despite the favorable results, the Ministry of Health, states, and municipal governments must keep up a permanent effort to combat the disease. (DAS)