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02/03/2017
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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Today at 09:45 p.m. - Updated today at 09:45 p.m.
Confirmed cases of yellow fever in Minas rise almost 40% in one week
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Minas Gerais has 138 confirmed cases of yellow fever. On January 26, exactly one week ago, there were 84 confirmations. The new figures show a growth of 39.1% in this period, according to the new epidemiological bulletin released on Thursday (2) by the Health Department of Minas Gerais (SES-MG).
In all, Minas Gerais registered 777 notifications for yellow fever involving 59 municipalities. In addition to the 138 confirmed cases, 37 were discarded. The rest is still under investigation. The number of deaths from yellow fever in Minas Gerais also rose. Fifty-one deaths were confirmed for yellow fever, another 77 are under analysis. Of the confirmed deaths, 62.7% involve victims between the ages of 40 and 59.
The statistics take into account the site of infection. Not all of the victims who contracted the disease in Minas Gerais died in the state. One of them, infected in the municipality of Januária (MG), was diagnosed and died in the Federal District. The state of São Paulo also confirmed deaths of people with yellow fever who acquired the virus in Minas Gerais territory.
The main action of coping with the disease is the vaccination of the population. The immunizing agent is offered free of charge at the health centers through the Unified Health System (SUS). The application takes place in a single dose and should be strengthened after ten years. In the case of children, the Ministry of Health recommends the administration of a dose at 9 months and a boost at 4 years.
To ensure a more efficient vaccination campaign and other measures to combat the disease, the Minas Gerais government last month announced an investment of R $ 26 million. An emergency public health situation was also decreed in a coverage area that includes 152 municipalities, which makes it possible to streamline administrative processes for procuring inputs and for hiring services and temporary employees.
Monkeys
Caused by a virus in the Flaviviridae family, yellow fever is a disease of outbreaks that suddenly strikes groups of monkeys and humans. The disease is transmitted in rural and wild areas by the Haemagogus mosquito. In urban areas, it can be transmitted by Aedes aegypti, the same as dengue, zika virus and chikungunya fever. However, there are no records in Brazil of yellow fever transmission in urban environments since 1942. In the current outbreak, none of the confirmed and suspected cases in Minas Gerais is considered to be urban transmission.
There is evidence that disease outbreaks can be influenced by environmental degradation. In an interview with Agência Brasil last week, the primatologist Sérgio Lucena explained that the spread of the virus begins among the monkeys, often in groups that live in small fragments of forests. "They are sentinels. If the virus starts to spread in a certain area, the death of the monkeys will send us an alert."
According to the expert, there are species of monkeys highly susceptible to the disease. He says studies done during the 2009 outbreak in Rio Grande do Sul showed that populations of howler monkeys were reduced to 20%. "While seven people died that year, about 2,000 monkeys died," says Sérgio Lucena. The primatologist says that the statistics of public agencies can not keep up with this reality.
According to the SES-MG bulletin, there are 50 municipalities in Minas Gerais with confirmation of monkeys that died of yellow fever. Another 21 cities have primate deaths under investigation and 53 record rumors of dead animals. Two weeks ago, Belo Horizonte became part of the numbers.
Two monkeys were found dead and are being analyzed. However, as occurrences are in two-quarter homes in different regions of the city, the likelihood of yellow fever infection is lower. The capital has so far no notification of the disease in humans.
One concern that has been presented by SES-MG concerns violence against monkeys registered in some municipalities. There are people who believe that sacrificing animals can help prevent disease in humans. The agency has posted on its blog a post to demystify this idea and clarify that animals are actually allies that help map the disease.
"Viral infection lasts for only three or five days, then monkeys die or become immune, so that aggressions usually reach healthy animals that have not had contact with the virus or are already immunized and are not at risk," says text.
Source: JB Online
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.