(Re) emergence of a disease

The health epidemiological surveillance team received rumors about the deaths of 3 non-human primates at a site next to a peripheral neighborhood in a city of 100,000 inhabitants in southeastern Brazil. The following week, a dead monkey was found on a tourist trail next to a waterfall in the city’s ecological park. The city has an environmental preservation area visited by tourists and local people.

In the following week, the death of a 42-year-old man due to a Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) infection was reported in a regional reference hospital. The microregion was not known as endemic for yellow fever.

Questions to consider

• What are the first steps to investigate the problem?
• How to organize the mitigation of this situation?
• What information is needed to assess the situation?
• Which professionals should be involved in investigating these events?
• What environmental aspects should be considered?

 What is expected of the group on Day 1

Organization of the group to broaden the understanding of the situation and start the discussion about the first steps to guarantee actions with an impact in the future.