Millions in Brazil seek shots in yellow fever scare
By Isabel Versiani
BRASILIA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Millions of Brazilians are lining up at hospitals and clinics to receive yellow fever shots as deaths and suspected cases fuel fears of a resurgence of the deadly disease.
The death of a man in Brasilia last week prompted concerns yellow fever could swamp urban centers, from where it has been eradicated in the 1940s.
A second person from a rural area of the central state of Goias also died of the disease, officials said on Monday. More than 20 other suspect cases, including a Spanish citizen who died in Goias during the weekend, are being investigated.
The government has denied the country faces an epidemic of yellow fever, which is spread by mosquitoes, but authorities are warning tourists traveling to Brazilian forests, national parks and rural areas to vaccinate at least 10 days before the trip.
More than half of Brazil's 27 states are partially or entirely considered yellow fever risk areas, including the Amazon and the nation's capital Brasilia. Most of the coast, which attracts the bulk of tourists, is considered free of the disease.
As fears of an outbreak grew among Brazilians all over the country, the Health Ministry gave states more than 3.2 million doses of yellow fever vaccines this year, more than three times the average monthly distribution in 2007.
People in Sao Paulo stood in line on Sunday for more than four hours at an airport health station to receive shots, according to local media.
In Brasilia, hospitals temporarily ran out of vaccines last week as demand surged.
Health Minister Jose Temporao said on Sunday that all suspected cases involved people with no vaccination who were in forest areas.
"There is no risk of an epidemic," he said.
Symptoms of the disease include high fever, headache, vomiting and muscular pain. (Reporting by Isabel Versiani; Editing by Bill Trott)
