Brazil orders 11.5 million yellow fever vaccine doses

Brazil's health ministry has ordered 11.5 million doses 
of yea low fever vaccine amid the largest outbreak
 of the disease in the country since 2000.

Seventy cases - including 40 deaths - are confirmed,
 mostly in rural areas of the state of Minas Gerais. 

More than 300 cases are under investigation.

Vaccinations are being recommended for people
 travelling  to Minas and other areas with confirmed cases.

Yellow fever is a potentially fatal disease transmitted
 by mosquitoes.

Most of Brazil is considered at risk from yellow fever 
but the country has only seen a handful of cases in recent years.


What is yellow fever?

Caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans by
mosquitoes

Difficult to diagnose and often confused with other diseases
or fevers

Most people recover after the first phase of infection that
usually involves fever, muscle and back pain, headache,
shivers, loss of appetite, and nausea or vomiting

About 15% of people face a second, more serious phase
involving high fever, jaundice, bleeding and deteriorating
kidney function

Half of those who enter the "toxic" phase usually die 
within 10 to 14 days


The governor of Minas Gerais has declared a 180-day 
state of emergency.

There have also been three confirmed cases in Sao
Paulo, Brazil'smost populous state, and one each in 
Espiritu Santo and Bahia, which both neighbour Minas.

Around 5.5 million vaccine doses have already been 
sent to five states that have confirmed cases or are
 at risk. The other 6 million ordered will arrive soon.

It is not clear what has caused the rise in cases.

Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public 
health at the London School of Hygiene and 
Tropical Medicine, said: "It's unusual.

"The more cases you have, the more chance
 that it's going to light up and take off in urban areas."

The Brazilian authorities are taking the situation very 
seriously and appear to have enough vaccine stocks, 
he added.