Yellow fever outbreak in a rural-urban mixed community of Espírito Santo, Brazil: epidemiological aspects

• Published in: Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
• Main Authors: Tálib Moysés Moussallem, Caroline Gava, Karla Spandl Ardisson, Clemilda Soares Marques, Giselle Calmon Graceli, Aline da Penha Valadares Koski, Gilton Luiz Almada, Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva, Fernando Antonio Alves de Jesus, Gilsa Aparecida Pimenta Rodrigues, Theresa Cristina Cardoso da Silva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2019
• Subjects: Yellow fever; disease outbreaks; mass vaccination; Brazil; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2019.29; https://doaj.org/article/db33d618017341618bea3ce522c14b32

Objective. To describe the epidemiological aspects of an outbreak of yellow fever (YF) that occurred in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, from 1 January 2017 – 31 July 2017. Methods. A descriptive, quantitative, retrospective approach analyzed secondary data obtained from the national notification systems, Information System of Diseases Notifications (SINAN), Laboratory Environment Manager (GAL), and the Espírito Santo Health Secretariat (SESA). Results. From 1 January 2017 – 8 July 2017, a total of 824 cases were reported in Espírito Santo, 307 (37%) of which were confirmed as YF. Of these, 95 (30.9%) died from the disease. Men were those most affected, corresponding to 244 (79.5%) cases, and women to 63 (20.5%) cases. The greatest incidence rate registered was in the city of Santa Leopoldina (380.2 cases/100 000 inhabitants). The outbreak evolved rapidly and a response was possible due to a multidisciplinary group created specifically to tackle the YF outbreak. Conclusions. The data were received and analyzed quickly and the response, consisting of immediate treatment of the cases and a blocking vaccination strategy, was developed to halt the progression of this fatal disease. In spite of these efforts, the case fatality rate of yellow fever remained high.