Date: Wed 9 Jan 2008
Source: Xinhua Net [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/10/content_7398360.htm >
Brazilian government denies risk of yellow fever outbreak
---------------------
Brazil's Minister of Health Jose Gomes Temporao denied on Wednesday
[9 Jan 2007] the risk of a yellow fever (YF) outbreak in the country.
"The situation is absolutely under control," said Temporao, stressing
that the country has not had a confirmed case of yellow fever in an
urban area since 1942. Most cases identified during the period took
place in the rainforest region.
The health minister said the local secretariats of health are
monitoring eventual cases in the states.
On Tuesday [8 Jan 2008], a man, 38, a 2nd patient allegedly infected
with the disease died in the federal capital of Brasilia. He had been
in hospital for a week, after developing the symptoms of fever, such
as jaundice, vomiting and kidney failure. But it is reported that no
yellow fever case has been confirmed yet. The physicians who took
care of the man in Brasilia said the cause of his death will only be
confirmed next week, following tests to be held on the patient's body.
According to the reports, the man had spent the end-of-year holidays
in a tourist city in the neighboring state of Goias, midwestern
Brazil, which led the Ministry of Health to recommend the vaccination
of citizens and visitors in 18 Brazilian states. However, Temporao
added, there is no need to carry out a mass vaccination campaign in
those states, as the population of urban areas are not endangered.
Also on Tuesday, another patient developed the symptoms of the
disease in the capital city of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, and
was taken to a hospital in the region. The alleged spread of the
disease generated a rush to local health centers, where people join
long queues to take the vaccine that help immunize against yellow
fever within 10 days.
[Byline: An Lu, editor]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Given the importance of these 2 suspected cases, confirmation that
they are YF cases or not is urgent. ProMED requests information
concerning the lab test results when they become available. How to
respond in this situation is delicate for the Ministry of Health. It
should be remembered that Brazil has suffered dengue epidemics in
many parts of the country in 2007, so there are abundant populations
of _Aedes aegypti_, which is the mosquito vector of both dengue and
of yellow fever viruses. If the cases are confirmed as YF, a vigorous
vaccination campaign with its attendant publicity is warranted,
despite adverse effects on tourism that it might engender in the
run-up to carnival. If this turns out to be a false alarm but is
widely publicized, the economic damage from loss of tourist visits
could be considerable.
An interactive ProMED health map of Brazil can be accessed at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=-10.8,-53.1,4>. - Mod.TY]
******
[2]
Date: Wed 9 Jan 2007
Source: Diario da Manha [in Portuguese, trans. Mod.MPP, edited]
<http://www.dm.com.br/ultimas.php?id=46765>
Victim began/caught fever in Brasilia, allege family members
-----------------
Family members of the patient, who died yesterday [8 Jan 2008] from
suspected yellow fever, questioned the thesis of health authorities
that he was infected during a trip to Pirenopolis (Goania State),
during the New Year vacation. They argue that he began to fall ill
one day before arriving in that city, a very rapid reaction, given
the incubation period of the disease, which is between 3 and 5 days.
Because of this, the family does not preclude the possibility that he
had already been infected before travelling. Another reason the
family suspects that he could have been infected in Brasilia is the
fact that he travelled with a group of various friends, but only he
was infected.
For the Ministry of Health, nevertheless, the possibility of
infection in Brasilia is totally discarded. "If he was infected, it
occurred during the trip,"affirmed the secretary of Surveillance of
the Ministry of Health, Gerson Penna. He justified his conviction:
"There have not been reports of infected monkeys (in the capital)".
The patient was admitted on Friday [4 Jan 2008] with fever and joint
pains. He arrived in the afternoon, lucid, and at night was on a
ventilator. The 38-year-old administrator died on Tuesday [8 Jan
2008]. Results from an autopsy should be ready by Friday [11 Jan
2008].
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[ProMED awaits results of the autopsy and confirmation (or not) of YF
virus infection as the cause of death. - Mod.TY]
******
[3]
Date: Thu 10 Jan 2008
Source: Yahoo Noticias [in Spanish, trans. & summ. Mod.TY, edited]
< http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/ap/20080109/twl-ams-med-brasil-fiebre-amarilla-1be00ca.html>
The Brazilian Minister of Health said on Wednesday [9 Jan 2008] that
there is no risk of a yellow fever epidemic despite an outbreak that
caused the deaths of 2 Brazilians this past week.
Jose Gomes Temporao [the Minister of Health] said that there is no
reason to be alarmed because the deaths happened [infectious were
acquired] in rural, not urban, areas, and there there was ample
availability of vaccine stocks produced by the Oswaldo Cruz
Founation, a governmental organization in Rio [de Janeiro].
"The situation is totally under control. There is no epidemic risk,"
said Temporao during a press conference. Given everything, the
Ministry of Health has requested that the Foundation double its usual
vaccine production with 10 days advance notice.
There have been some complaints that there was not enough vaccine
available at dispensaries in Brasilia. The Foundation sent an
additional 250 000 doses to Brasilia on Wednesday [09 Jan 2008],
although Temporao insisted that precautions were adequate.
"There have been no urban cases of yellow fever in Brazil since 1992,
just sylvan ["jungle"] cases," said Temporao. "There is no necessity
to carry out massive vaccination. There is no epidemic. What we are
doing is sufficient."
******
[4]
Date: Wed 9 Jan 2008
Source: Yahoo Noticias [in Spanish, trans. & summ. Mod.TY, edited]
<http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/efe/20080109/tsc-brasil-intensifica-una-campana-contr-539a483.html >
Brazil has intensified its yellow fever prevention campaign and sent
out an international alert after a small number of cases of the
disease, but the Minister denied today [9 Jan 2008] that there is an
epidemic risk.
"The situation is absolutely under control. There is no risk of an
epidemic; there are no urban yellow fever cases in Brazil," said
Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao in a press conference. The
reported cases are only sylvatic. "The health authorities are
accompanying, vaccinating and informing adequately," he said.
Yesterday [8 Jan 2008] a Brazilian man died of this infectious viral
disease and there is a new case reported from Minas Gerais (in the
southeast).
Temporao admitted that the ministry is studying 8 other possible cases
This disease has killed 161 people in Brazil in the last 12 years, of
349 registered [yellow fever] cases. All of these fatalities were
Brazilians who were not vaccinated and went into forested areas where
the disease [virus] is endemic, said the Minister, who indicated that
the numbers of cases has declined [in recent years]. In 2000 there
were 40 fatalities, 23 in 2003, 2 in 2006 and 5 in 2007 he explained.
"There is no need for massive vaccination," he indicated.
He insisted that people who do not go into areas of risk do not need
to be vaccinated, since the urban transmission cycle has been
eradicated since 1942.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people have lined up at health centers in
Brasilia, Goiania and various other cities to get vaccinated.
In various localities in Goiania the deaths of at least 80 monkeys,
apparently victims of sylvan [yellow fever], have been documented and
classified by the Ministry as "sentinel episodes" which permit
preventive action to be taken.
This morning [9 Jan 2007], the health authorities of Minas Gerais
reported that a 48-year-old cattleman was admitted to a hospital in
Belo Horizonte with symptoms of the disease that he contracted in the
Amazonian state of Acre, near the Bolivian border.
Temporao confirmed that he requested that the Ministries of External
Relation and Tourism alerted diplomats, tourists and others who
travel to Brazil that they be vaccinated at least 10 days before
their travel [to Brazil].
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The Minas Gerais suspected YF case illustrates the risk of transport
of YF virus in infected individuals from a YF virus endemic area in
far western Brazil to the eastern part of the country, or
potentially, internationally. The recent leap of chikungunya virus
from India to Italy is a vivid demonstration of how infected
individuals can establish outbreaks in new localities where abundant
vector mosquito populations exist (see archive no. 20071210.3980). -
Mod.TY]
Source: Xinhua Net [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/10/content_7398360.htm >
Brazilian government denies risk of yellow fever outbreak
---------------------
Brazil's Minister of Health Jose Gomes Temporao denied on Wednesday
[9 Jan 2007] the risk of a yellow fever (YF) outbreak in the country.
"The situation is absolutely under control," said Temporao, stressing
that the country has not had a confirmed case of yellow fever in an
urban area since 1942. Most cases identified during the period took
place in the rainforest region.
The health minister said the local secretariats of health are
monitoring eventual cases in the states.
On Tuesday [8 Jan 2008], a man, 38, a 2nd patient allegedly infected
with the disease died in the federal capital of Brasilia. He had been
in hospital for a week, after developing the symptoms of fever, such
as jaundice, vomiting and kidney failure. But it is reported that no
yellow fever case has been confirmed yet. The physicians who took
care of the man in Brasilia said the cause of his death will only be
confirmed next week, following tests to be held on the patient's body.
According to the reports, the man had spent the end-of-year holidays
in a tourist city in the neighboring state of Goias, midwestern
Brazil, which led the Ministry of Health to recommend the vaccination
of citizens and visitors in 18 Brazilian states. However, Temporao
added, there is no need to carry out a mass vaccination campaign in
those states, as the population of urban areas are not endangered.
Also on Tuesday, another patient developed the symptoms of the
disease in the capital city of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, and
was taken to a hospital in the region. The alleged spread of the
disease generated a rush to local health centers, where people join
long queues to take the vaccine that help immunize against yellow
fever within 10 days.
[Byline: An Lu, editor]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Given the importance of these 2 suspected cases, confirmation that
they are YF cases or not is urgent. ProMED requests information
concerning the lab test results when they become available. How to
respond in this situation is delicate for the Ministry of Health. It
should be remembered that Brazil has suffered dengue epidemics in
many parts of the country in 2007, so there are abundant populations
of _Aedes aegypti_, which is the mosquito vector of both dengue and
of yellow fever viruses. If the cases are confirmed as YF, a vigorous
vaccination campaign with its attendant publicity is warranted,
despite adverse effects on tourism that it might engender in the
run-up to carnival. If this turns out to be a false alarm but is
widely publicized, the economic damage from loss of tourist visits
could be considerable.
An interactive ProMED health map of Brazil can be accessed at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=-10.8,-53.1,4>. - Mod.TY]
******
[2]
Date: Wed 9 Jan 2007
Source: Diario da Manha [in Portuguese, trans. Mod.MPP, edited]
<http://www.dm.com.br/ultimas.php?id=46765>
Victim began/caught fever in Brasilia, allege family members
-----------------
Family members of the patient, who died yesterday [8 Jan 2008] from
suspected yellow fever, questioned the thesis of health authorities
that he was infected during a trip to Pirenopolis (Goania State),
during the New Year vacation. They argue that he began to fall ill
one day before arriving in that city, a very rapid reaction, given
the incubation period of the disease, which is between 3 and 5 days.
Because of this, the family does not preclude the possibility that he
had already been infected before travelling. Another reason the
family suspects that he could have been infected in Brasilia is the
fact that he travelled with a group of various friends, but only he
was infected.
For the Ministry of Health, nevertheless, the possibility of
infection in Brasilia is totally discarded. "If he was infected, it
occurred during the trip,"affirmed the secretary of Surveillance of
the Ministry of Health, Gerson Penna. He justified his conviction:
"There have not been reports of infected monkeys (in the capital)".
The patient was admitted on Friday [4 Jan 2008] with fever and joint
pains. He arrived in the afternoon, lucid, and at night was on a
ventilator. The 38-year-old administrator died on Tuesday [8 Jan
2008]. Results from an autopsy should be ready by Friday [11 Jan
2008].
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[ProMED awaits results of the autopsy and confirmation (or not) of YF
virus infection as the cause of death. - Mod.TY]
******
[3]
Date: Thu 10 Jan 2008
Source: Yahoo Noticias [in Spanish, trans. & summ. Mod.TY, edited]
< http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/ap/20080109/twl-ams-med-brasil-fiebre-amarilla-1be00ca.html>
The Brazilian Minister of Health said on Wednesday [9 Jan 2008] that
there is no risk of a yellow fever epidemic despite an outbreak that
caused the deaths of 2 Brazilians this past week.
Jose Gomes Temporao [the Minister of Health] said that there is no
reason to be alarmed because the deaths happened [infectious were
acquired] in rural, not urban, areas, and there there was ample
availability of vaccine stocks produced by the Oswaldo Cruz
Founation, a governmental organization in Rio [de Janeiro].
"The situation is totally under control. There is no epidemic risk,"
said Temporao during a press conference. Given everything, the
Ministry of Health has requested that the Foundation double its usual
vaccine production with 10 days advance notice.
There have been some complaints that there was not enough vaccine
available at dispensaries in Brasilia. The Foundation sent an
additional 250 000 doses to Brasilia on Wednesday [09 Jan 2008],
although Temporao insisted that precautions were adequate.
"There have been no urban cases of yellow fever in Brazil since 1992,
just sylvan ["jungle"] cases," said Temporao. "There is no necessity
to carry out massive vaccination. There is no epidemic. What we are
doing is sufficient."
******
[4]
Date: Wed 9 Jan 2008
Source: Yahoo Noticias [in Spanish, trans. & summ. Mod.TY, edited]
<http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/efe/20080109/tsc-brasil-intensifica-una-campana-contr-539a483.html >
Brazil has intensified its yellow fever prevention campaign and sent
out an international alert after a small number of cases of the
disease, but the Minister denied today [9 Jan 2008] that there is an
epidemic risk.
"The situation is absolutely under control. There is no risk of an
epidemic; there are no urban yellow fever cases in Brazil," said
Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao in a press conference. The
reported cases are only sylvatic. "The health authorities are
accompanying, vaccinating and informing adequately," he said.
Yesterday [8 Jan 2008] a Brazilian man died of this infectious viral
disease and there is a new case reported from Minas Gerais (in the
southeast).
Temporao admitted that the ministry is studying 8 other possible cases
This disease has killed 161 people in Brazil in the last 12 years, of
349 registered [yellow fever] cases. All of these fatalities were
Brazilians who were not vaccinated and went into forested areas where
the disease [virus] is endemic, said the Minister, who indicated that
the numbers of cases has declined [in recent years]. In 2000 there
were 40 fatalities, 23 in 2003, 2 in 2006 and 5 in 2007 he explained.
"There is no need for massive vaccination," he indicated.
He insisted that people who do not go into areas of risk do not need
to be vaccinated, since the urban transmission cycle has been
eradicated since 1942.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people have lined up at health centers in
Brasilia, Goiania and various other cities to get vaccinated.
In various localities in Goiania the deaths of at least 80 monkeys,
apparently victims of sylvan [yellow fever], have been documented and
classified by the Ministry as "sentinel episodes" which permit
preventive action to be taken.
This morning [9 Jan 2007], the health authorities of Minas Gerais
reported that a 48-year-old cattleman was admitted to a hospital in
Belo Horizonte with symptoms of the disease that he contracted in the
Amazonian state of Acre, near the Bolivian border.
Temporao confirmed that he requested that the Ministries of External
Relation and Tourism alerted diplomats, tourists and others who
travel to Brazil that they be vaccinated at least 10 days before
their travel [to Brazil].
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The Minas Gerais suspected YF case illustrates the risk of transport
of YF virus in infected individuals from a YF virus endemic area in
far western Brazil to the eastern part of the country, or
potentially, internationally. The recent leap of chikungunya virus
from India to Italy is a vivid demonstration of how infected
individuals can establish outbreaks in new localities where abundant
vector mosquito populations exist (see archive no. 20071210.3980). -
Mod.TY]
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