Health Alerts

The US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) updated its yellow fever (YF) travel alert on Apr 13th to include those areas most recently categorised as potential YF risk sites. They have issued the following statement, ‘yellow fever vaccination is now recommended in all of Espiríto Santo and Rio de Janeiro states; São Paulo state, with the exception of the urban area of the city of São Paulo; and a number of municipalities in the state of Bahia.’ A list of those affected towns in Bahia state is provided. Read more.

New chikungunya data provided to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the 2 weeks up to the end of March made up 90 percent of the reported cases for the region. Over 16,750 cases were recorded in Brazil, with Peru (78 cases) and Paraguay second and third (67). Read more 

In Petrópolis, a city in the forested Serra dos Órgãos approx. 70kms from Rio de Janeiro, at least 5 men (age between16 to 54 years) have been diagnosed with Malaria. Petrópolis is a popular winter tourist destination. According to the CDC, cases of malaria in this region are rare, but mosquito bite avoidance measures are always recommended.

Men aged 20 to 29 are currently among the worst hit in an epidemic of syphilis underway in the Federal District. A Portuguese-language report names the cities of Taguatinga, Paranoá and Planaltina as being most affected. Almost 1,300 cases of the sexually transmitted infection were reported there last year. Read more.