City Hall reinforces the importance of the yellow fever vaccine

Ariane Caldas

Health’s Secretary

The City of São José dos Campos reinforces the importance of vaccination against yellow fever, after the state recorded two cases of the disease in 2024.

The first was a death registered on March 29th. The victim was a 50-year-old man, resident of Águas de Lindóia and who was also traveling through the Monte Sião region, in Minas Gerais.

Another possible case of the disease, in Serra Negra, is under investigation. The patient has already been discharged.

In São José dos Campos, there were 13 confirmed cases in 2018, of which 6 people became infected in the municipality. Since then, there have been no more indigenous cases of the disease. In 2019, another case was confirmed, of a person who became infected in another municipality.

Vaccination

The Yellow Fever vaccine is part of the national immunization calendar and is available in the 40 Resolve UBSs (Basic Health Units) and in the 5 Advanced Units present in all regions of the city.

Currently, vaccination coverage in São José is 19.47%.

Since April 2017, Brazil has adopted a vaccination schedule of just one dose for a lifetime, a measure that is in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Every person who lives in Areas with Vaccine Recommendation against yellow fever and people who will travel to these areas must be immunized at least 10 days before traveling.

If in doubt, it is important to seek a health unit. The addresses and opening hours of the units are available for consultation on the City Hall website. Vaccination ends one hour before the unit closes.

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus and transmitted to monkeys and humans through the bite of a mosquito.

It is also important to highlight that monkeys do not transmit Yellow Fever. Infection occurs through wild mosquitoes, which live in forest areas and do not inhabit the urban environment of cities.

There are two types of yellow fever: wild and urban. The difference between the two is the mosquito that carries the virus and transmits it through its bite.

Currently in Brazil there is only wild yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquitoes that live in the forest. However, we have to be very careful so that yellow fever does not become urban, eliminating all breeding sites for the dengue mosquito, because it can also transmit yellow fever if it becomes infected with this virus.

Yellow fever is mandatory notification. All suspected cases are investigated and tests are carried out by the Adolfo Lutz Institute to confirm or rule out the diagnosis.

If a case of yellow fever is suspected, the Zoonosis Control Center attends the site and takes action to combat the mosquito within a radius of 300m around the site of infection.

Symptoms

The initial symptoms of yellow fever are:

– Sudden onset of fever;

– Chills;

– Intense headache;

– Back pains;

– Body pain in general;

– Nausea and vomiting;

– Fatigue and weakness;

– Most people improve after these initial symptoms. However, about 15% experience a brief period of hours to a day without symptoms and then develop a more severe form of the disease.

In severe cases, a person infected with yellow fever may develop some complications, such as:

– High fever;

– Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes);

– Bleeding (especially from the gastrointestinal tract);

– Eventually, shock and multiple organ failure.

Check information about the disease.

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Health’s Secretary