MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Anti yellow fever vaccination campaign reaches Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires health centres have begun to vaccinate against yellow fever in support of a national campaign to prevent the spread of the viral mosquito transmitted disease following serious outbreaks in Brazil and Paraguay, both neighboring countries with Argentina reported Buenos Aires City authorities.

The vaccination is free and is in the framework of the national anti yellow fever vaccine campaign. Outbreaks in Brazil and particularly Paraguay where several people have died and a sanitary emergency was declared have put Argentine authorities on alert. Argentina is not only vaccinating its own people in the so called vulnerable areas but is also offering free inoculation to Paraguayans who cross the border. Argentina's campaign has concentrated in the provinces of Misiones, Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes, Salta and Jujuy, neighboring with Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. Travelers to these countries or adjacent areas are also recommended to vaccinate. The vaccine is necessary between the ages of one and sixty and optional for those below and above, depending on the risk situation to which they are exposed. However travelers to Brazil's Atlantic coast do not need to be vaccinated since the disease is concentrated in tropical and rain forest areas. Meantime UNICEF reported that it had supplied two million anti-yellow fever vaccinations in response to an emergency declared by the Government of Paraguay. Approximately 750,000 people have been immunized so far. Additionally 1000 special thermoses have been donated by UNICEF for the conservation and transportation of these vaccines. To date and based on WHO data 66 suspected cases of yellow fever have been registered of which 15 cases were confirmed and seven people have died, including a 17-year-old. Of the suspected cases, 26 were located in urban centers close to Asunción, and seven cases of yellow fever were confirmed in the rural area around San Pedro. The Paraguayan government prevention strategy involves a multi-pronged approach that includes vaccinating municipalities with registered cases of yellow fever, along with neighboring municipalities, as well as eliminating the mosquito transmitter (Aedes Aegypti) and its larvae's creators. In related news fears of yellow fever have made bookings for March and April plummet 30% in the city of Puerto Iguazú next to the world famous falls. Patricia Durán Vaca head of the Puerto Iguazú Tourism Office has called on Argentine, Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities to report "the truth about the sanitary situation" and urgent solutions to address the fall in business. The Iguazu Nacional Park and its falls for the first time ever attracted over a million visitors last year.