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Brazilian Government to Review Yellow Fever Vaccination

03/23/2017 - 11h57

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NATÁLIA CANCIAN
FROM BRASÍLIA

The expansion of yellow fever into new areas in Brazil – such as the state of Rio de Janeiro – boosted the discussions on changes in the vaccination policy against the disease.

Two points are being analyzed. One of them is an increase to be made in the permanent recommended area for protection.

Another proposal is the inclusion of the vaccine in the country's annual schedule for children as young as nine months old, with a second dose given at the age of four.

The Ministry of Health says officially that it will "review" the vaccination area and the changes in the national annual schedule "after the interruptions in the transmission of yellow fever in the affected areas."

Nowadays the permanent recommended area is comprised of 3,529 municipalities, distributed in 19 states as well as the federal district.

However, in the face of this year's outbreak, 177 other municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia and São Paulo began to receive temporary recommended vaccination.

Now these state governments expect the cities to be maintained on the list definitively.

The change occurred because of the need to give those who were recently vaccinated a new dose of the vaccine in the coming years and because of the records that show the disease spreading.

The current national plan calls for children to receive the vaccine at nine months of age and a second dose when they are four years old only in the areas on the yellow fever risk map. However, the possibility of increasing it has received support from technicians inside and outside the Ministry of Health.

Isabela Ballalai, the president of Sbim (Brazilian Immunization Association), believes that the debate should advance further. "If you vaccinate a child, he will grow immune. But it is the adult who goes into the woods. It is a difficult discussion."

Data of the Ministry of Health show that 448 cases of yellow fever have been confirmed this year, with 144 deaths, making this the worst outbreak since 1980. There are 850 other cases being investigated.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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