Health Alerts for Argentina

INFLUENZA Worldwide
Sept. '17 – According to the CDC, annual vaccination against seasonal influenza is recommended for all people 6-months of age and older. Globally, influenza activity is low in most regions. In North America, influenza activity continues to decrease. In Europe, influenza activity continues to decrease in most countries. In northern Africa and the Middle East, influenza activity continues to decrease or remained low in most countries; however activity remained high in Jordan and Turkey. In the temperate countries of Asia, influenza activity continued to decrease, but continues to remain high in the Republic of Korea. In tropical countries of the Americas, influenza activity remains low in most countries. In tropical Asia, influenza activity began to decline in India but continued to decrease in southern China and Hong Kong SAR. In tropical Africa, influenza activity increased in western Africa, however Madagascar reported declining influenza activity. Lastly, in the southern hemisphere influenza activity remains at inter-seasonal levels.
Sources Include: International Society for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization.

YELLOW FEVER in Argentina
Sept. '17 - Case numbers for yellow fever are thought to be greatly under-reported; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are approximately 200,000 cases of yellow fever worldwide per year, with 30,000 deaths; 90% of these cases occur in Africa. According to WHO, yellow fever is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Latin America. WHO also notes, the number of yellow fever cases has increased over the past two decades due to declining population immunity to infection, deforestation, urbanization, population movements and climate change.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health has reported an ongoing outbreak of yellow fever. The first cases were reported in the State of Minas Gerais in December 2016, but confirmed cases have since been reported in the neighboring states of Espirito Santo, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro (not Rio de Janeiro City). Cases have occurred mainly in rural areas, with most cases being reported from Minas Gerais state.
Sources Include: International Society for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization.

CHIKUNGUNYA in Argentina
Sept. '17 - Chikungunya is known to occur during the rainy season in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, southern India, and Pakistan. More recently the disease has also been reported in the Americas and South Pacific for the first time. According to the CDC, most people in the Americas are not immune to chikungunya so further spread is likely. Once infected people can infect and spread the virus to other mosquitoes. Chikungunya is often confused with Dengue fever, as the symptoms are similar, although chikungunya symptoms are less severe compared to dengue.
Local transmission of chikungunya has been reported in the following countries:
AFRICA: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Reunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
AMERICAS: Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Sint Maarten (Dutch), Saint Martin (French), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.A (several states - travel related), and Venezuela.
ASIA: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor, Vietnam, Yemen.
EUROPE: France.
OCEANIA/PACIFIC ISLANDS: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Federal States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tokelau Islands, and Tonga.
Chikungunya fever is a disease caused by a virus that is spread to people through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms can include sudden fever, joint pain with or without swelling, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, and a rash. In case of these symptoms people are strongly advised to see their doctor. Travelers should use mosquito nets when sleeping and apply mosquito repellents.
Sources Include: International Society for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization.

DENGUE FEVER in Argentina
Sept. '17 - Dengue Fever cases have been on the rise worldwide. According to WHO, incidence of dengue has increased 30 fold in the past 50 years. WHO estimates over 2.5 billion people are now at risk of dengue and there are about 50-100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. According to the CDC, dengue fever is the most common cause of fever in travelers who return from South Central Asia, Central America and the Caribbean.
Sources Include: International Society for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization.

MEASLES Worldwide
Sept. '17 - Health officials in France and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have reported an outbreak of measles. You can get measles primarily by breathing in airborne particles that contain the virus. Symptoms of measles are rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes.
The best protection against measles is through vaccination.
SOURCES: CDC

ZIKA VIRUS in Argentina
Sept. '17 - Zika fever was originally detected in Africa, however an increasing number of cases have been detected in the Americas. Brazil, Colombia, and the Caribbean have been the hardest hit so far, but the disease is spreading rapidly. On Dec. 31 2015, Puerto Rico reported its first case of the disease in a resident who had not traveled outside of the island.
Multiple cases have been detected in the United States in travelers from other regions. A few instances of local transmission are under investigation in Florida. Multiple cases of infant microcephaly have been reported in the U.S.
Specific areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing are often difficult to determine and are likely to continue to change over time.
Zika fever is a viral illness similar to dengue fever, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis. It is spread though mosquito bites and mosquitoes carrying the virus can bite during the day and at night. Symptoms of zika fever include high temperature, headache, red eyes, skin rash, muscle aches, and joint pains.
Those traveling to the South or Central America or the Caribbean should take extra precautions in order to avoid the mosquito-borne disease including using mosquito repellents, mosquito netting and protective clothing.
Sources Include: International Society for Infectious Diseases, Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization.