LA PAZ: Bolivia’s government on Friday said a Danish tourist had tested positive for yellow fever, its first case in a decade, after he visited a jungle area in the far west of the landlocked Andean country.
After an initial stay at a Bolivian hospital, National Health Director Rodolfo Rocabado said the stricken tourist travelled on to Chile for treatment. He also urged Bolivians not to fear an outbreak.
“This person came from another place and was not vaccinated,” he told Reuters. “Our population is covered because massive vaccination campaigns have been done.” Yellow fever is a viral disease found in tropical regions of Africa and the Americas that mainly affects humans and monkeys and is transmitted by the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue and the Zika virus.
Brazil experienced an outbreak in a rural area earlier this year, leading to 40 confirmed deaths. Brazil has not had an urban outbreak of yellow fever since 1942.
Most people recover from yellow fever after the first phase of infection, which usually involves fever, muscle and back pain, headache, shivers, loss of appetite and nausea or vomiting, according to the World Health Organisation.
