SP reinforces vaccination against yellow fever in ABC after monkey case
The government of São Paulo reinforces vaccination against yellow fever in ABC, in the metropolitan region of the capital after confirming a case in a monkey in the city of Santo André.
The SES-SP (São Paulo State Department of Health) has been intensifying surveillance and vaccination actions in the region and advises residents who have not yet been immunized to seek a health unit.
According to the SES, the presence of the virus in primates indicates a risk of transmission in forest areas, parks, conservation units and regions close to ecological corridors. The record appears in the Epidemiological Bulletin of the Epidemiological Surveillance Center (CVE), released on Monday (25).
In Santo André, vaccination against yellow fever is recommended for people aged 6 months and over. Children between 6 and 8 months can receive the so-called "zero dose", which does not replace the doses provided for in the regular calendar.
Elderly people aged 60 or over, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding children up to 6 months old can be vaccinated as long as they undergo medical evaluation.
This year, the state of São Paulo confirmed nine cases of yellow fever in humans, with five deaths. None of them had been vaccinated.
In addition to Santo André, the precautions also apply to other cities in the ABC: São Bernardo do Campo, São Caetano do Sul, Diadema, Mauá, Ribeirão Pires and Rio Grande da Serra.
For these municipalities, the recommendation is selective vaccination for people over 9 months of age for those who have not yet received the vaccine, have an incomplete schedule or who live, work or travel in risk areas.
People who received a split dose of the yellow fever vaccine in 2018 should receive a new full dose, especially those who live in or will move to regions with proven circulation of the virus.
The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes in wild areas and vaccination is the main form of prevention. There is no direct transmission between people or from monkeys to humans. Primates act as sentinels for the circulation of the virus and help health teams identify risk areas.
Who should be vaccinated against yellow fever?
- Children: one dose at 9 months and a booster at 4 years;
- People who received only one dose before the age of 5: should receive a booster;
- Unvaccinated people aged 5 to 59: single dose;
- People vaccinated with a split dose in 2018: should check the need to update their booklet.
Symptoms of yellow fever
The initial symptoms of yellow fever include sudden onset fever, chills, severe headache, back pain, body aches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness.
How is yellow fever transmitted?
Yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes infected by the virus and has two transmission cycles: wild and urban. In the wild cycle, the main vectors are mosquitoes of the genera Haemagogus and Sabethes.
Non-human primates act as amplifying hosts for the virus and are also victims of the disease, as are humans, considered accidental hosts in this cycle.
In the urban cycle, transmission occurs via the Aedes aegypti mosquito, if infected. There has been no record of urban yellow fever in Brazil since 1942.
Yellow fever: what it is, symptoms and how the vaccine works
Source: CNN