The Bolivia Ministry of Health has confirmed yellow fever in a 27-year-old male Danish tourist who likely contracted the mosquito borne virus while visiting the jungle, according to a Terra report (computer translated).

Image/Salud Bolivia Twitter
Image/Salud Bolivia Twitter

National Director of Health, Rodolfo Rocabado says this is the first confirmed case in the country in ten years.

The young man went to a clinic in the municipality of Caranavi, located in the north of La Paz, presenting “symptoms compatible with the disease,” said Rocabado.

He was referred to a hospital in the city of La Paz where he was diagnosed with yellow fever and then transferred to Chile for treatment.

He is currently in good condition.

Rocabado told Reuters that the risk of an outbreak is not likely, “This person came from another place and was not vaccinated. Our population is covered because massive vaccination campaigns have been done.”

On Thursday, the health ministry published recommendations on the yellow fever vaccine (computer translated). “The immunity generated by the vaccine against yellow fever is lifelong and that is why it is important that people apply for it in health centers,” said Rocabado.

The authority indicated that the vaccine against this disease is within the national immunization scheme of the Expanded Program of Immunization and that it is applied to children from one to two years of age.

He recommended that the population living in border areas with countries like Brazil, Paraguay and others, go to health facilities to receive the vaccine against this pathology that is completely free.

Neighboring Brazil has seen their largest yellow fever outbreak in decades with more than 200 confirmed yellow fever cases as of Wednesday.

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