Yellow fever, public health crisis in Colombia

The Colombian government has declared both a public health emergency and an economic emergency in response to a yellow fever virus outbreak in the department of Tolima, situated 200 kilometers south of Bogota. This declaration is intended to facilitate funding for an extensive vaccination initiative targeting the population. President Petro has announced the beginning of a nationwide campaign, utilizing the country’s 18,000 rural schools as designated vaccination sites. In a statement released via a widely used social media platform, the President indicated that the virus has resulted in a minimum of 74 confirmed human infections, with 32 fatalities, the majority of which occurred in Tolima. Furthermore, the President expressed concern regarding the inadequacy of available resources for treating yellow fever patients within public hospitals in Bogota.