Pregnant beauty influencer Sofia Amorim has died after contracting dengue fever

Pregnant beauty blogger Sofia Amorim has died after contracting dengue fever. The 22-year-old passed away after suffering multiple organ failure as a result of the disease, which is spread by mosquitos.

Friends said Sofia, who was seven months pregnant, began to feel ill on March 22, complaining of shortness of breath, with dengue fever diagnosed four days later. Mild cases of dengue fever cause a high fever and flu-like symptoms, but can become severe, leading to serious bleeding and potentially, death.

Tragically, Sofia died in Goiânia, Brazil, along with her unborn baby. There are currently more than 72,000 confirmed cases of dengue fever in the area, according to the state's department of health.

A friend, who asked not to be named, told local media: "She was very short of breath, so they thought it was anxiety. On Tuesday afternoon, they found out it was dengue and went to 'listen' to her lungs. They were full of water. At around 10pm, they had to intubate her."

They added: "The baby had already died in her belly in the early hours of the morning, they didn’t deliver her immediately because her platelets were very low, and she could have lost too much blood. The caesarean section was the last resort to try to save her life."

Dengue fever is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Most common in south east Asia, Latin America and Africa, the disease has been recorded in southern Europe, including in Italy, France, Croatia and Spain.