Yellow fever toll rises to 81 in Brazil

Brazil's Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the regional yellow fever outbreak has killed 81 people in the Latin American country.

According to the ministry, a total of 213 yellow fever cases have been confirmed in Brazil since July 2017. Out of the 1,080 suspected cases in total, 432 were discharged and 435 remain under surveillance.

Since the last update was released last week, the number of confirmed cases has increased by 83, with 28 new deaths registered.

The health ministry said no urban cases have been reported. The country eradicated urban yellow fever in 1942.

The yellow fever outbreak in larger towns and in areas closer to Brazil's most populated cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, led the government to carry out a widespread vaccination campaign in the states of Rio and Sao Paulo, which are two top destinations of the Carnival holiday.

The Rio city government has recommended that unvaccinated tourists should avoid the woods and nature hikes to minimize the risk of exposure to the viral disease spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)