In Brazil, the yellow fever outbreak continues to roll on with some numbers not seen in decades. According to the Brazil Ministry of Health, 846 confirmed yellow fever cases and 260 deaths were reported in the period from July 1, 2017 to March 6 of this year.
In the same period last year, 597 cases and 190 deaths were confirmed.
Officials say that although the cases of the current monitoring period have been higher than the past seasons, the yellow fever virus now circulates in metropolitan regions of the country with the largest population, reaching 32.5 million people who live in areas that have never had a recommendation of vaccine. In the past seasons, for example, the outbreak reached a population of 8.4 million people.
On 25 January 2018, Brazilian health authorities began a vaccination campaign (fractional and standard doses) targeting 69 municipalities within Rio de Janeiro (10 million persons in 15 municipalities) and São Paulo (10.3 million in 54 municipalities) states.
In Bahia, the vaccination campaign began on 19 February with a targeted population of 3.3 million persons in eight municipalities.
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