A person from the city of Oruro, contracted and died from yellow fever in the tropical regions of Cochabamba, Bolivia, being the first such fatality from the mosquito borne viral disease, according to a La Razon report Feb. 14 (machine translated).
This has prompted health authorities to urge people to get vaccinated against yellow fever at least 10 days prior to travel to tropical areas.
In addition, they remind the public that the yellow fever vaccine is free.
Yellow fever virus is endemic in the Amazon Basin of the South American tropics. This is undoubtedly a case of sylvan (jungle) yellow fever, where the virus infects wild primates and is transmitted to people by forest mosquitoes. It is critical that individuals in these areas be vaccinated against yellow fever virus infections, to not only protect themselves, but to prevent introduction of the virus into the urban cycle where significant numbers of cases, with a high (30 per cent) case fatality may occur.
Comment: It is very important for all travelers to most countries in South America & Africa to ensure that they take the yellow fever vaccination at least 10 days before traveling, so that they are protected against this deadly disease.
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