By Omer Yetkin Acar
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AA) – A yellow fever outbreak in Brazil has led to the deaths of more than 300 people since July, 2017, the country's Health Ministry said on Thursday.
According to a statement from the ministry, Brazil has confirmed more than 1,127 cases and recorded at least 330 deaths from the disease since last summer.
The southeastern state of Minas Gerais is the most affected area as 152 people have died and 480 people are undergoing treatment, the statement read.
In Sao Paulo, 453 confirmed cases were reported and 134 people have died. In Rio de Janeiro, 63 people have died, the ministry said.
Health officials had announced last year a mass vaccination campaign as a precaution amid the outbreak. The campaign is scheduled to end in 2019.
Usual symptoms include fever, muscle pain, backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting, with most patients improving within three to four days.
In severe cases, however, high fever returns within a day of symptoms disappearing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The patient rapidly develops jaundice and complains of abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes or stomach.
“Once this happens, blood appears in the vomit and faeces. Kidney function deteriorates. Half of the patients who enter the toxic phase die within 10 to 14 days, the rest recover without significant organ damage, ” the WHO says.
