Yellow fever alert in Tolima, Colombia
In a follow-up on the yellow fever situation in Colombia, the Ministry of Health and Protection revealed that new cases of yellow fever have been registered in six territorial entities, with a notable increase in the last week in the department of Tolima.
Recently, 11 new cases of yellow fever were reported in the department of Tolima, 8 of which have already been confirmed. According to the report from local authorities, 3 of these patients died, another 5 have a reserved prognosis and the remaining 3 remain under permanent observation.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, together with regional health authorities, activated the “Epidemiological Barrier”. This was done with the aim of containing the outbreak in 11 municipalities, with priority in Cunday, Prado, Purificación and Villarrica, which are the towns with the highest number of cases.
The decision was made after the installation of the Unified Command Post (PMU), with the leadership of the Ministry of Health and the participation of the Government of Tolima, the mayors and managers of local hospitals, EPS, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Civil Defense and the Red Cross.
One of the measures taken was to advance a mass vaccination campaign in the priority municipalities. This activity was carried out on November 2, 2024.
For this purpose, 38 vaccination teams were allocated, mostly Basic Health Teams financed by the National Government.
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Another 25 teams were also included by Nueva EPS, Salud Total, Asmet Salud, Famisanar and Pijao Salud, with the support of the municipalities of Saldaña and Guamo, for a total of 63 teams of vaccinators, who have the goal of carrying out a total vaccination within 15 days. In the other non-prioritized municipalities, vaccination will also be carried out in order to reinforce the epidemiological fence.
The Ministry of Health also provided 3 doctors, 2 entomologists, hospital care technologists and a professional nurse on the ground, who will be in charge of coordinating the strategy with the departmental Health Secretariat.
Requests were also made to the Health Cluster, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as well as other collaborators and allies, in order to strengthen the logistics and equipment process required for the strategy to function properly.
"We have worked together with the EPS, municipalities, hospitals and cooperating agencies with the purpose of creating and monitoring this strategy. We hope that it progresses satisfactorily and that we contain the outbreak of yellow fever that has occurred in the department of Tolima," said the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Dr. Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes, Sabethes and Haemagogus species. Its symptoms may include fever, muscle aches, headache and in some severe cases jaundice and bleeding, with a fatality rate of 20 to 50%. Early identification of symptoms is crucial as they can be confused with other diseases.
The main preventive measure is vaccination, which is safe and effective. A single dose provides lifelong protection. Although the department of Tolima has vaccination coverage of over 93%, it is essential that all people, especially those planning to visit rural or jungle areas, make sure they are vaccinated.
In addition to vaccination, health education and communication activities are being carried out to inform the population about the disease and its prevention. The community is urged to use repellents and take measures to avoid mosquito bites, especially in rural areas.
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