Brazilian residents feel neglected in dengue fight

(CNN) -- The battle against a massive and deadly outbreak of dengue continues Monday, but obstacles remain in at least one sprawling neighborhood.

The mosquito that transmits the disease lives and breeds in pools of stagnant water around the Caxias community, rife with squalor and crime. Standing water makes Caxias a key front in the battle against an epidemic that has killed at least 67 people, affected 55,000 and prompted the Brazilian military to join the fight.

Yet combatting the disease is no easy matter in Caxias, which is home to thousands. It is also considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro.

Gunshots rang out as the president of the neighborhood association walked through the streets the other day. He suggested a camera crew and reporter accompanying him duck into his office for safety.

Locals complain that authorities have long neglected their neighborhood and don't seem in a rush to come now that a dengue epidemic has seized southeastern Brazil.

"Why doesn't the government come here to fumigate every day?" asks 13-year-old Joao Rafael, who felt fever and bodyaches recently -- classic symptoms of dengue.

The rampant crime poses one problem -- drug dealers who wield great power on the streets of Caxias rarely let in outsiders. Julio Cesar Moreira, president of the neighborhood association, said government officials rarely venture into the community because they do not want it to grow.

"We've always felt abandoned," he said.

Authorities have said they are investigating 58 deaths in addition to the 67 confirmed fatalities that they attribute to the dengue epidemics. Almost half the deaths were in children under the age of 13, they said.

Dengue is common in tropical areas, but the outbreak in southeastern Brazil is particularly acute. Some have called it the worst in recent memory there, with an average of 1.4 new cases a minute. Watch ground zero in the dengue fever epidemic »

Mosquitoes carrying dengue viruses breed in stored, exposed water, including places as shallow as jars, discarded bottles and plant saucers, according to the World Health Organization.

Symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains and eye pain, nausea, vomiting, and a rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dengue fever, the more common form of dengue, is caused by four closely related viruses, all of which are carried by infected mosquitoes -- mainly the Aedes Aegypti mosquito -- the CDC said.

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