Tropical Diseases in Brasil

Travelers to Brazil who follow the usual tourist itineraries and follow food safety recommendations should have low risk of contracting cholera. It is important to avoid drinking or eating in untreated water or uncooked or raw food.

Cholera is still present in 58 countries as of 2001 where 185,000 cases were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ingesting contaminated water or food can put you at risk for contracting cholera.

Travelers to Brazil who follow the usual tourist itineraries and follow food safety recommendations should have low risk of contracting cholera. It is important to avoid drinking or eating in untreated water or uncooked or raw food. Travelers are not required to have vaccinations against cholera anymore.

Yellow fever is caused by mosquitoes and is a viral illness. The symptoms can vary and may resemble the flu. Yellow fever is common in sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Cases of yellow fever have been noted in young men exposed through occupation to the vector population in Brazil.

Malaria is caused by a parasite and can be fatal. In Brazil the areas at risk are Acre, Rondônia, Amapá, Amazonas, Roraima, and also Tocantins. Malaria is passed to humans from a bite of an infected mosquito. You can prevent malaria by seeing your health care provider while planning your trip to Brazil. Your provider will give you a vaccination and antimalaria medication. Prevent mosquito bites by bringing along a deet containing insect repellant, a mosquito bed netting and clothes that have long sleeves and long pants.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans by mosquitos. Mosquitos are most active during the day, so take precautions to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes while they are active. The risk is usually higher in urban areas but can occur in rural areas as well.

Tropical Disease Center S. travelers has been so law as to make the benefit of receiving a vaccine questionable due to its brief immunity. There are no countries requiring a vaccination to enter the country. If local authority requires a vaccine, then a single oral dose may be given to satisfy any local requirements. As a preventative those traveling to cholera- affected areas should avoid eating high-risk foods, such as fish and shellfish. Tropical Disease Center

Lymphatic filariasis is caused by the adult worm and once infected live in the lymphatic vessels of the host. Infected mosquitoes transmit the disease from one person to another. 120 million individuals are infected with lymphatic filariasis in tropical areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Southern Asia, the western Pacific islands, and the northeastern coasts of South and Central American and also the Caribbean islands. There is no vaccine for lymphatic filariasis. The best thing anyone can do visiting Brazil is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes by using personal protective clothing and using insect repellent.

Another tropical disease common to Brazil is leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by the bite of the sand flies. This disease is found more often in rural areas, so one preventative may be to avoid the rural areas of Brazil. Dusk and dawn are the two times to be especially careful of sand flies, but usually bite more often at nighttime. Prevent being bitten by wearing clothing that covers much of the body as possible and using insect repellent. Clothing should be treated with permethrin. Bed netting should be used for sleeping. Permethrin aerosol can be sprayed on bed netting, and window screens.

River blindness is also prevalent in Brazil and is a disease transmitted by the bite of a female black fly. They bite during the day and are found by rivers and streams in Brazil. Risk of infection is greater if you live or work near fly habitats. There are no vaccines for either river blindness or chemoprophylaxis applications so protective measures must be taken. Avoid areas known to have black flies and wear protective clothing.

Tropical Disease Dangers!

09/04/2010
Novartis and collaborators discover novel antimalarial drug candidate
Novartis announced that scientists at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), in collaboration with researchers from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a novel compound that shows promise as a next generation treatment for drug resistant malaria.

Novartis and collaborators discover novel antimalarial drug candidate

09/04/2010
Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat ...
An experimental malaria drug was shown to effectively treat the disease in mice with only a single dose, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Reuters reports (Kelland, 9/2). The new drug, known as NITD609, "represents an entirely new class of medicines to treat malaria ... Human trials, backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, could begin later this year," the ...

Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat ...

09/02/2010
New Potential Malaria Treatment Identified
A newly identified compound kills the malaria parasite well before it creates major health problems within an infected person, a new study finds. It might one day serve as a new drug to treat the infectious disease.

New Potential Malaria Treatment Identified

09/03/2010
News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Sept. 1, 2010
INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Modified adenovirus malaria vaccine works a treat in mice Malaria kills more than 1 million individuals each year. Despite intensive research, there is still no malaria vaccine approved for use. A team of researchers, led by Moriya Tsuji, at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, New York, has now designed a new vaccine that provides protection from malaria in mice. The team ...

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Sept. 1, 2010

09/04/2010
Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat ...
An experimental malaria drug was shown to effectively treat the disease in mice with only a single dose, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Reuters reports (Kelland, 9/2). The new drug, known as NITD609, "represents an entirely new class of medicines to treat malaria ... Human trials, backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, could begin later this year," the ...

Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat ...

08/31/2010
How Disease-Causing Parasite Gets Around Human Innate Immunity
Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and ...

How Disease-Causing Parasite Gets Around Human Innate Immunity

09/02/2010
New Potential Malaria Treatment Identified
A newly identified compound kills the malaria parasite well before it creates major health problems within an infected person, a new study finds. It might one day serve as a new drug to treat the infectious disease.

New Potential Malaria Treatment Identified