Abstract

HERNANDEZ-GALVIS, Juanita et al. Yellow fever in Colombia: from public calamity to neglected disease. Acta méd. Peru [online]. 2018, vol.35, n.1, pp.55-59. ISSN 1728-5917.

Since its arrival to Colombia in the middle XVII century, yellow fever played an important role in its history; first with epidemics in the Caribbean ports, and later, when steamboats became available, by navigating upstream the Magdalena River. Both the discovery of the vectors involved in its transmission as well as the development of an effective vaccine led concerns about the disease to a secondary plane. Epidemic outbreaks of yellow fever continued occurring, particularly in very distant regions and also with prolonged time intervals. However, since 2016 there has been a recrudescence of such outbreaks, in parallel with what is going in our neighbor countries, Peru and Brazil. The main vector, Aedes aegypti, is also involved in the transmission of other arbovirus infections, and it is capable of adapting and extending its presence in many urban areas in South America. Nonetheless, a low-cost and highly effective vaccine is available, which may contribute to eradicate the disease

Keywords : Yellow fever; Neglected diseases; Aedes aegypti.

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