São Paulo spotted fever outbreak claims 17 lives in 2026

A tick‑borne disease known as febre maculosa has killed 17 people in the state of São Paulo during the first seven months of 2026, according to the State Health Secretariat. The deaths occurred in five epidemiological regions: Piracicaba, Sorocaba and Campinas (three each), and Santo André and São José dos Campos (one each). The most recent victim was 37‑year‑old civil engineer Rubens Allan Bizarro of Americana, who died on 30 June after being hospitalized at Hospital Municipal Dr. Waldemar Tebaldi.

The Secretariat recorded 18 confirmed cases for the period, 17 of which were fatal, a lower absolute number than the 44 deaths reported in 2025 but still alarming given the disease’s high lethality. From 2020 to 2025 the state logged 489 cases and 244 deaths. Local health authorities are urging residents to avoid high‑risk areas such as riverbanks, lakes and capybara habitats, wear light‑colored long‑sleeved clothing, and regularly inspect their bodies for ticks. The Programa de Vigilância e Controle do Escorpião e Carrapato (PVCE) is expanding training for health workers, educational campaigns, signage in risky zones, and monitoring of capybara populations. In Americana, 22 notifications have been recorded this year (16 dismissed, five under investigation, one confirmed death), while the nearby city of Araras reported two child deaths earlier, prompting intensified preventive actions.