Possible Yellow Fever outbreak in Kenya (see Promed)
Found NOT to be Yellow Fever
Report on Yellow fever vaccine requirements in East Africa and Yellow fever outbreak in Northern Uganda
Zephania Ubwani
21 January 2011
Nairobi — A mandatory yellow fever jab for travellers within East Africa was ordered yesterday to contain an outbreak of the disease in Uganda.
Tanzania's Health minister Dr Hadji Mponda said efforts are being made to establish vaccination centres at all border posts following a meeting of the region's health ministers in Arusha.
Dr Mponda told reporters the East African Community partner states have agreed to make vaccination against the disease compulsory.
Although he said no case of the disease had been reported in Tanzania, he admitted that his ministry could not rule out a possibility of the epidemic crossing into the country. "We have tightened screening of travellers entering the country and I have not been notified of any case within our borders," he said.
Dr Mponda said that the new measures would reinforce yellow fever checks at major airports, where the on-the-spot jabs would also be administered.
Dr Stanley Sonoya, head of the health unit at the EAC secretariat, said the health ministers would consider joint cross-border immmunisation campaigns.
According to Ugandan authorities, at least 190 people have been affected by the outbreak with 48 reported killed as at December 30, last year.
Speaking at the meeting, EAC deputy secretary-general Jean Claude Nsengiyumva said yellow fever outbreak was a major concern to the region. Kenya's Public Health minister Beth Mugo said she was not aware if the disease had spread into her country
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Yellow fever outbreak in Brazil, Argentina
and Paraguay - Iguazu Falls -- AND now Asuncion?
Paraguay declares state of emergency after 1st yellow fever
death
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The Paraguayan health authorities on Tuesday [5 Feb 2008] declared a
state of emergency after an Asuncion hospital confirmed the nation's
1st death for more than a century from yellow fever, a liver and
kidney disease spread by mosquitoes.
February 18th Paraguay 7 deaths - Brazil 16 deaths
March 5 Paraguay 10 deaths
Brazil website with MAP http://www.cives.ufrj.br/informacao/fam/fam-2008.html ENGLISH
Health Canada Released: January 18, 2008
The Brazilian Ministry of Health has issued an alert to reinforce recommendations for yellow fever vaccination of tourists and workers traveling to areas within Brazil where yellow fever regularly occurs. This alert was issued because of a rise in reported transmissions of yellow fever in animals and of confirmed and suspected cases, including deaths, in humans.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) endorses these recommendations. PHAC continues to promote yellow fever vaccination prior to travel to areas of Brazil at risk of disease transmission as outlined by the World Health Organization, International Travel and Health: http://www.who.int/ith/countries/bra/en/. Travel to the capital, Brasilia, is included in the areas in which yellow fever vaccination is recommended. Although it is an urban center, Brasilia is surrounded by jungle where yellow fever transmission occurs.
Malaria Dominican republic Health Canada
Malaria in the Dominican Republic
- Update: Feb 2008The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) continues to recommend malaria prophylaxis (medication) and the use personal insect protective measures against mosquito bites for travel to rural areas of the Dominican Republic AND to all areas, including resort areas, within the province of La Altagracia. Please refer to the recommendations section of this advisory for additional information.
** 2 more cases in German Tourists in Punta Cana (not leaving the resort area) In November 2007
Another Canadian Malaria case Feb 2008
A new case of imported _Plasmodium falciparum_ malaria from the
Dominican Republic
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_Plasmodium falciparum_ malaria (0.33 percent parasitemia) was
diagnosed in Montreal on 12 Feb 2008, in a female tourist returning
on 2 Feb 2008 from a 2-week holiday in Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic. She claims she did not leave the hotel area. There was no
other exposure to malaria regions of the world except for the same
hotel a year earlier [2007].
In light of the evidence of ongoing malaria transmission in and around tourist resort areas within the province of La Altagracia, the Public Health Agency of Canada continues to recommend malaria prophylaxis (medication) and the use of personal protective measures (e.g., repellants) against mosquito bites for travel to resort areas within the province of La Altagracia as well as all rural areas of the Dominican Republic. The tourist resort destinations of Punta Cana and Bavaro are located within the province of La Altagracia.
Note: While chloroquine is the malaria drug of choice for the Dominican Republic, atovaquone / proguanil (Malarone ®), doxycycline and mefloquine are as effective as chloroquine and readily available.
Last year, because of an outbreak of malaria among travelers to that same area, CDC AND PHAC recommended antimalarial drugs for travel to La Altagracia Province, including resort areas. The recommendations were lifted in May 2005 after health authorities in the Dominican Republic implemented mosquito control measures which included heightened surveillance for malaria cases. In 1999, malaria cases were also reported in travelers to resorts in La Altagracia Province and antimalarial drugs were temporarily recommended for travelers
