Yellow Fever (Colombia)
 

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The death toll from an epidemic of yellow fever raging along Colombia's tourist-rich Caribbean coast has risen to eight, and 27 more people have been confirmed to have the mosquito-borne disease, health officials said on Thursday.

The epidemic, which has hit hardest near the Sierra Nevada mountains, forced the South American government to close five parks and has prompted a massive vaccination campaign.

"We have eight deaths confirmed due to the yellow fever epidemic," said Health Minister Diego Palacio. He said no urban centers have been affected.

Palacio said Colombia had sent an aid plane to neighboring Brazil to pick up additional vaccines for thousands of people waiting in crowded hospitals. Symptoms of the viral illness include fever, muscle pain, headache, shivers and nausea.

One of the parks temporarily closed is Sierra Nevada, popular among foreign backpackers for its mist-covered mountains and jungles and home to many Indian communities.

I guess I didn't realize that Colombia was that big of a tourist draw:

Terry

Mostly the coast. However the bird and berry crowd will go anywhere to climb a rock or hug a tree. You should see them in Ecuador.

Seems like asking for trouble:

Terry

They are everywhere in Laos and Cambodia as well...smelly chicks with hairy pits and tree trunks for ankles walking along with "105 lbs of man" in tow and ratty packs.
Was certain you were following the YF deaths...
Doing twice a day monitoring right now on H5N1 in Hanoi (and now Thailand) :(

How are the cholera clinics doing down there??? still a big daily crowd? That used to be a BIG draw for the CARE and UNICEF camera clown...always hated that.

The Eagle

Cholera - haven't had an outbreak in a while, but there's always cases.