Health agencies have already launched actions to eliminate the mosquito and prevent the appearance of new cases.
Yellow fever is resurfacing in Guyana. For the first time since 1998, a woman died of this infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Guyana announced on Tuesday.
According to the first investigations carried out by the agency, the victim was infected in the border area of Oyapock in Brazil. “The patient, with a history of staying in the forest near Saint-Elie and in the Oyapock valley, died on August 9,” said the ARS in its press release adding that the Institut Pasteur de Guyane confirmed the infection with the yellow fever virus this Monday, August 21.
However, the agency and its local partners did not wait for this confirmation to act to prevent the appearance of new cases. Mosquito control operations have already started in the places where the deceased patient passed. Actions have been carried out in particular at the Cayenne hospital center, at the Kourou medical and surgical center and in the forest surrounding Saint-Elie.
15% of severe cases
This pathology is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes but also mosquitoes living in the forest. The virus can be transmitted from monkeys to humans, but also from humans to humans.
It takes about a week of incubation before you notice symptoms (fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting). “Serious forms (hemorrhages, hepatic disorders, renal disorders) can develop in 15% of cases”, indicates the ARS. These patients then suffer from jaundice, hence the name of this disease. At this stage of the disease, half of the sick die within 10 to 14 days.
An effective vaccine available
In addition to mosquito control and personal protection against bites, vaccination is the main preventive measure against yellow fever. Just one dose is enough to provide long-lasting immunity and lifelong protection. “In 30 days, it gives effective immune protection to 99% of vaccinated subjects,” says the ARS.
Unvaccinated people who have visited areas visited by the victim since August 15 and showing symptoms are advised to consult their doctor “without delay”. Most general practitioners can perform the vaccination.
The Red Cross Centers, the PMIs or the traveler consultation center at the Cayenne Hospital Center are also authorized. The list of doctors and centers is available on the ARS Guyane website: https://www.guyane.ars.sante.fr/fievre-jaune
Yellow fever is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Latin America. In total, 47 countries in these regions are threatened by outbreaks or epidemics of yellow fever, or nearly one million people exposed. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of yellow fever cases at 130,000 each year and the number of deaths at 44,000. Almost all of it occurs in African countries.
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