Marcia Wonghon
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Recife – The Chagas Disease is under control, in spite of recent cases registered in Santa Catarina among people who drank sugarcane juice, ensured the Minister of Health, Humberto Costa, this Friday (8), during opening ceremony of the Fórum Regional de Saúde e Cidadania (Regional Health and Citizenship Forum), in the city of Petrolina, state of Pernambuco.

According to the Minister, the Ministry has developed programs to reduce occurrences of the Chagas Disease in the state of Bahia, the only one with cases of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission.

The objective of the forum is to present to participants the initiatives undertaken by the federal government, with people participation, to expand sanitation programs, control endemic diseases, and provide medical assistance to the population.

There were speeches on the control of diseases such as Hansen’s, tuberculosis, dengue fever, Chagas, as well as those sexually transmitted and AIDS. The benefits of the Family Health and Oral Health programs were also discussed. The event gathered mayors, municipal secretaries of health, and representatives of the civil society, in addition to technical experts of the Ministry of Health.

Translation: Andréa Alves