Yellow Fever Scare In Brasil

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7184421.stm

The Brazilian government has confirmed that a man who died in hospital in the capital, Brasilia, was suffering from yellow fever. Hundreds of thousands of people have been queuing for vaccinations for the disease in parts of Brazil, after 12 suspected cases in recent weeks. Eight of those cases, three of them fatal, are still being investigated. In the last 12 years, the country has reported 349 cases of the disease, with 161 deaths. Brazil has not had a case of urban yellow fever since 1942 but now this man has died in hospital in the capital with the disease. However, the latest victim spent the New Year's holiday in a rural area in the neighbouring state of Goias and the authorities are working on the belief he was infected outside the city.

Since the recent alert, more than 560,000 people have been vaccinated against yellow fever and the government says there is no risk of an epidemic. Public concern was initially raised when two monkeys were found dead in a public park in Brasilia, but tests on one of the animals have shown it did not have the disease. During this busy holiday period in Brazil the government is issuing reminders to tourists, both from home and abroad, to check on the need for vaccinations, depending on their travel plans.

-Raquel