Faced with isolated cases of yellow fever, Health calls for attention to surveillance and vaccination

Given the recent record of two isolated cases of yellow fever in the region on the border of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, the Ministry of Health issued this Sunday (28) an alert to intensify surveillance and immunization actions in areas with active transmission of the yellow fever virus. fever. This is a preventive action so that states and municipalities can report suspected cases as quickly as possible. This is necessary so that future outbreaks are avoided and response actions are promptly carried out if necessary.

The joint information note from the departments of Communicable Diseases, Public Health Emergencies and the National Immunization Program, all linked to the Secretary of Health and Environment Surveillance of the Ministry of Health, is available online.

According to the Secretary of Health and Environmental Surveillance of the Ministry of Health (SVSA/MS) Ethel Maciel, “yellow fever is a disease easily preventable with the vaccine. And it is available on SUS for all ages. The false anti-vaccine campaigns have not only harmed the Covid. Vaccination coverage of yellow fever is below recommended. That is why it is important for the entire population to be up to date with their vaccinations.”

Yellow fever is a disease with a high fatality rate. In the last six months, four cases were registered in the country (one in Roraima, one in Amazonas and two in the state of São Paulo); Of this total, three died. The two most recent cases were a 50-year-old man, resident in the region between Águas de Lindóia and Monte Sião, on the border of São Paulo and Minas Gerais; and a 28-year-old man, in the municipality of Serra Grande. This second one is already cured.

Yellow fever is endemic in the Amazon region, but, from time to time, the virus re-emerges in areas outside the extra-Amazon region. The temporal pattern of occurrence is seasonal, with most cases occurring between December and May. Outbreaks occur when the virus encounters favorable conditions for transmission, such as high temperatures, low vaccination coverage and high density of vectors and hosts.

From 2014 onwards, the virus re-emerged in the Central-West region, spreading in the following years to other regions of the country. Between 2014 and 2023, 2,304 cases of yellow fever were recorded in humans, of which 790 resulted in deaths.

Among the Ministry of Health’s recommendations are the alert for surveillance and immunization teams to intensify actions in the affected areas, with expansion to neighboring municipalities; notification of the illness or death of monkeys; and attention to symptoms of mild and moderate fever in unvaccinated people.

As for vaccination, the recommendations are that the strategy of actively searching for unvaccinated people in the regions of occurrence be used. To assist in the actions, last Friday, the Ministry of Health made 150,000 extra doses of the yellow fever vaccine available for the state of São Paulo. A recommendation was also made for free access to the vaccine in health units, without the need for prior scheduling.

In a message sent to states and municipalities, the Ministry of Health also makes teams available to support the epidemiological investigation of cases.

Complete information about symptoms, treatment, transmission and vaccines of yellow fever can be accessed in the Health Encyclopedia from A to Z.