A dengue epidemic has claimed at least 54 lives in Rio de Janeiro state since January, health officials said Thursday.

Hospitals have reported a total of 114 deaths from the mosquito-borne disease, but 60 of those cases are still being investigated.

Brazilian Health Care Secretary Jose Noronha said that 1,200 soldiers from the army, air force and navy would be deployed next week to set up three field hospitals, while an additional 500 would spray insecticide and place poison in standing puddles of water where the mosquitoes breed.

"The intensity of the epidemic has brought intolerable death tolls," Noronha told reporters after a meeting with armed forces commanders.

The majority of the confirmed deaths, 31, have been in the city of Rio de Janeiro — Brazil's biggest resort city. Rio has seen a 25 percent drop in tourism as a result, the Brazilian Hotel Association said.

About half of the victims were children under the age of 13.

More than 43,000 people have contracted disease since January in Rio de Janeiro state — nearly double the 25,107 cases reported in all of 2007. The state is home to 16 million people.

State health official Victor Berbara said the outbreak highlights the importance of fighting the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito all year — not just between November and May when most infections occur.

"If nothing is done ... next year is going to be much worse," he told reporters.

Earlier this week, federal officials sent hundreds of health workers to Rio de Janeiro state to help care for victims in the state's overcrowded emergency rooms, and set up special tents with extra hospital beds in the city.

On Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Sergio Cabral ordered health officials to break into homes suspected of containing standing bodies of water if the owners could not be found.

Dengue, which has no vaccine, can incapacitate patients for over a week with severe headaches and joint pains, but is not usually fatal.

The last line is very important--dengue is usually not fatal.  Most of those who have died have been children, which only adds to the burden and difficulties.  When the health official said that this needs to be treated preventatively, by dealing with the mosquitoes year round, he was absolutely correct.  Prevention costs less in the end than dealing with the ramifications of NOT using preventive medicine.  Then another question came to mind.  I have to wonder, with the onset and continuation of global warming, if this issue will only become worse.  Areas that are endemic for mosquito-bourne illnesses will only get warmer and those areas that now are not endemic may change in such a way (warmer temps, more moisture in the air) that this becomes a problem in NEW areas.  Something to ponder.  As always, let me know what you think!