Fiebre amarilla: revisión concisa ante el actual escenario epidemiológico

Med Int Méx. 2017 septiembre;33(5):648-654. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24245/mim.v33i5.1560

Resumen

La fiebre amarilla es una infección viral ictérico-hemorrágica trasmitida por mosquitos del género Haemagogus en su ciclo selvático y Aedes aegypti en el urbano. En México hubo brotes y epidemias en puertos del Golfo de México y del litoral del Pacífico desde la Colonia hasta mediados del siglo XX. El médico cubano Carlos J Finlay en 1881 expuso la posibilidad de trasmisión por medio de vectores, lo que se corroboró en 1890 y en México, en 1903, se iniciaron trabajos de erradicación de vectores logrando el control de la enfermedad con el último caso urbano en 1923 y selvático en 1959. Sin embargo, ante el resurgimiento en nuestro continente es importante la revisión de la enfermedad y estar alertas ante la posible aparición de casos importados o autóctonos en nuestro país.

PALABRAS CLAVE: fiebre amarilla, arbovirus, fiebres hemorrágicas.

Yellow fever: A concise review given the current epidemiological scenario.

Med Int Méx. 2017 September;33(5):648-654. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24245/mim.v33i5.1560

Abstract

Mosquitoes transmit yellow fever, a viral infection characterised by haemorrhage and jaundice. Currently, it is endemic in African and South American countries whereas our country has been declared free of the disease since 1959 following the latest outbreaks and epidemics occurred in coastal cities from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast that were registered from the Colony until the middle of century XX. In 1881, Carlos J Finlay, who was a Cuban physician, exposed the hypothesis concerning the transmission of yellow fever by vectors; such theory was corroborated in 1890. In 1903, Mexico started working to eradicate the disease through control of mosquitoes. Finally, in 1923 Mexico achieved the control of the disease with the last urban case registered, whereas the last jungle case was recorded in 1959. However, due to the resurgence of the disease in our continent, it is important to provide the clinician with a comprehensive review of the disease and to raise awareness of the possible occurrence of imported or autochthonous cases in our territory.

KEYWORDS: yellow fever; arbovirus; haemorrhagic fever