In January 2017, the Brazil Ministry of Health reported 12 suspected cases of yellow fever in the state of Minas Gerais. Yellow fever has previously been detected in Minas Gerais. The most recent outbreak occurred in 2002-2003, with 63 confirmed cases, including 23 deaths.
The current yellow fever outbreak is taking place in an area with relatively low vaccination coverage, which could favor the rapid spread of the disease. The concern is that transmission may extend to the surrounding areas.
These areas were previously considered to be at low risk of transmission and, consequently, yellow fever vaccination was not recommended. The introduction of the virus in these areas could potentially trigger large epidemics of yellow fever.
There is also a risk that infected humans may travel to affected areas, within or outside of Brazil, where the Aedes mosquitoes are present and could initiate local cycles of human-to-human transmission. Response efforts are further complicated by the fact that there are also outbreaks of Zika virus, chikungunya and dengue.
Yellow fever can easily be prevented through immunization provided that vaccination is administered at least 10 days before travel. International Medical Clinic is a Yellow Fever MOH approved vaccination clinic.
