Introduction: Dengue is configures in recent decades as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil and around the world reaching the tropical and subtropical areas. Objective: To review the scientific literature on the occurrence of dengue in Brazil and its relationship with meteorological variables. Method: A systematic review of studies published in databases (SciELO, PubMed, MEDLINE, Lilacs) using descriptors related to weather variations and dengue fever in Brazil, published between 1991 to 2010. It was selected 31 articles that had the study area nationwide. Results: Most epidemiological studies use ecological design, the studies make use of entomological trapping, are common also series of studies of the disease and spatial analysis. It is evident relationship between dengue incidence with temperature and rainfall, the association is more significant from the second to fourth months of the year. Comparative studies of drought and rain show seasonal behavior of the disease. There are difficulties in establishing unique pattern of seasonality of disease incidence and weather variables for the country. Conclusion: Dengue is strongly related to meteorological variables. The seasonal variation in temperature and rainfall influences the dynamics of the vector and the incidence of the disease throughout the country, regardless of the climate category. The number of cases of classic dengue and of dengue hemorrhagic fever has been increasing on an annual basis. It is estimated that 550 thousand hospitalizations with 20 thousand deaths occur per year among a total of approximately 2.5 billion exposed people 4,5 , and an average of 80 million new cases are reported every year 2 .
KeywordsAs a reemerging endemic or pandemic disease, it occurs practically in all the tropical and subtropical regions of the planet 1 . The countries located in these regions are more susceptible due to diverse conditioning factors, such as: global changes, climate changes, weather variability, land use, water storage and irrigation, human population growth and urbanization 6 . Such factors, among others, significantly contribute to the proliferation and development of the Aedes aegypti mosquito -the virus vector 7-9 . Climate changes contribute to increase the number of people exposed to dengue to more than 2 billion and the projections for 2085 suggest that approximately 5 to 6 billion people (50 to 60% of the world's population) will be at risk regarding the disease transmission 10 .The seasonal dynamics of the dengue vector is commonly associated with climate changes and fluctuations 9,11 , which include: temperature increase and variations in rainfall and relative air humidity, conditions that favor a higher number of available breeding sites and, consequently, the development of the vector. The latter presents two distinct stages: aquatic, with the development phases of egg, larva and pupa, and terrestrial, which corresponds to the adult mosquito. Both stages are subject to environmental and climate changes 12,13 ...
