Brazil: Roraima confirms second case of yellow fever from Guyana, Monkey dies of yellow fever in state
The Roraima State Department of Health (Sesau) confirmed the second case of wild-type yellow fever in 2024, in a 13-year-old patient from Guyana. The case was announced on last Monday (October 14). The department is expected to meet with authorities from Guyana and teams from Bonfim , a municipality on the border with the country, to discuss control actions.
According to Sesau, the patient is from the Awarewanau Village community in the neighboring country. He first showed symptoms compatible with yellow fever on September 30 and was transferred from Lethem Hospital to Roraima General Hospital (HGR) in Boa Vista.
The disease was confirmed by the Central Public Health Laboratory of Roraima (Lacen-RR) on October 11. The patient is undergoing treatment, in good clinical condition, under the care of the HGR infectious disease team.
“The HGR Infectious Diseases team promptly organized the entire management protocol for this patient, including notification and collection of tests. After that, the patient was transferred to the ICU and is responding well to treatment,” highlighted the manager of the Yellow Fever and Dengue Control Center, Rosângela Santos.
The first case of wild yellow fever this year was identified in March. The patient, aged 17, living in a region close to the city of Lethem, was treated and monitored by professionals at the HGR, following all the protocols established by the General Coordination of Health Surveillance (CGVS), and was discharged after recovery.
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In addition, state health officials reported Saturday (October 19) that the diagnosis of yellow fever was confirmed in a monkey found dead in an indigenous community in Alto Alegre, in the interior of Roraima. This prompted the issuance of an epidemiological alert so that the 15 municipalities of the state intensify surveillance actions regarding the circulation of the disease virus.
A sample of biological material from the animal was analyzed at the Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), in Pará, a reference in the Amazon. The diagnosis of yellow fever in monkeys is called epizootic.
"We received the results of the laboratory diagnosis of a PNH [Non-Human Primate] from an indigenous community in Alto Alegre, very close to the urban area of the municipality, found dead in August. This epizootic occurred, and the Yellow Fever and Dengue Control Center went to the location. It is a region belonging to the Dsei Leste, but the state team went there, collected material from this animal, which was sent to the laboratory of the Evandro Chagas Institute, a reference in the region", explained the manager of the State Yellow Fever and Dengue Control Center, Rosângela Santos.