RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Health Ministry said Tuesday that from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, the number of registered suspected dengue cases increased by 149 percent year-on-year to 54,777, which means 2.63 out of every 10,000 inhabitants have been infected.

According to the ministry, 32,821 of the cases were registered in the southeastern region, where Brazil's two most populated cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are located.

In the meantime, the number of deaths caused by dengue fell from last year's 18 to five, among which Goias state registered two, while the Federal District, Sao Paulo and Tocantins state had one each.

On the other hand, suspected cases of zika was 630, 18 fewer from the same period in 2018, while suspected chikungunya cases fell by 51 percent to 4,149.

Similar to zika and chikungunya, dengue is a mosquito-borne tropical disease, the symptoms of which include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.