The Ministry of Health updated on Wednesday the information provided by the state health departments on the situation of yellow fever in the country. During the monitoring period (from July 1, 2017 to February 6, 2018), 353 cases of yellow fever were confirmed in the country, of which 98 died, according to a ministry press release (computer translated).

Image/CAMERAGE
Image/CAMERAGE

This compares to last year, from July 2016 to February 6, 2017, there were 509 cases of confirmed yellow fever and 159 confirmed deaths.

The yellow fever vaccine fractionation campaign began on January 25 in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The vaccination campaign in the state of Bahia begins on February 19.

To assist states and municipalities in carrying out the campaign, the Ministry of Health will send states R $ 54 million. Of this total, R $ 15.8 million have already been transferred to São Paulo; R $ 30 million to Rio de Janeiro, and the ordinance will authorize the transfer of R $ 8.2 million to Bahia.

The adoption of vaccine fractionation is a preventive measure recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) when there is an increase in epizootic and cases of wild yellow fever in an intense way, with risk of disease spread in cities with a high population index. The fractionated dose has shown the same protection as the standard dose. Ongoing studies have already shown protection for at least eight years and further research will continue to assess protection after this period.

The Ministry of Health, in the year 2017 to date, sent to the Federation Units the amount of approximately 58.9 million doses of the vaccine. A total of 49.8 million doses were sent to the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo and Bahia in order to intensify vaccination strategies, with 19.7 million (SP), 10.7 million (MG), 12 million (RJ), 3.7 million (ES) and 3.7 million (BA).

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