Health Advisor
Health Advisory Updates: Yellow Fever, Malaria, and Rabies
Yellow Fever
Travelers are strongly advised to follow the existing CDC yellow fever vaccination recommendations for Argentina:
• Yellow fever vaccination (at least 10 days before your trip) is recommended for all travelers older than 9 months of age who are going traveling to the northern and northeastern forested areas of Argentina, including Iguaçu Falls and all areas bordering Paraguay and Brazil. These areas include:
o All departments of Misiones and Formosa Provinces
o Department of Bermejo in Chaco Province
o Departments of Berón de Astrada, Capital, General Alvear, General Paz, Ituzaingó, Itatí, Paso de los Libres, San Cosme, San Miguel, San Martín, and Santo Tomé in Corrientes Province
o Departments of Valle Grande, Ledesma, Santa Bárbara, and San Pedro in Jujuy Province
o Departments of General José de San Martín, Oran, Rivadavia, and Anta in Salta Province
For additional information on Yellow Fever and to view See the Updated CDC Yellow Fever Risk Map for Argentina see the CDC website, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/YellowFever/index.html..
• The vaccine is effective for 10 years. The complications from yellow fever vaccine are greater for certain groups of people, such as those younger than 9 months or older than 60 years, pregnant women, and those whose immune systems are compromised. For more information about these and other yellow fever vaccine precautions and contraindications, please see the prevention information in the Yellow Fever section of CDC Health Information for International Travel 2008. These travelers (or their parents) should discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination for travel to this area of Argentina with their physicians.
Malaria
It should be noted that the incidence of malaria in Argentina is very low but there is some risk in the areas mentioned below. Those visiting the risk areas should exercise mosquito precautions for short visits of only a few days and may want to consider medication for visits of longer duration. Certainly, those concerned may always take medication to provide the best possible protection. Please see your physicians for medication options.
Malaria risk area in Argentina: Rural areas of Salta and Jujuy province (along border with Bolivia) and Misiones and Corrientes province (along border with Paraguay).
Drugs to Prevent prevent Malaria (Antimalarial drugs): If you will be visiting a malaria risk area in Argentina, chloroquine is the recommended antimalarial drug.
Protect Yourself from mosquito bites
• Use insect repellent on exposed skin surfaces when outdoors, particularly during the day.
o Repellents containing 30% to 50% DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are recommended for adults. Lower concentrations of DEET offer shorter-term protection and require more frequent reapplication.
o Repellents containing picaridin are available in the United States in formulations of up to 15% concentration, which require frequent reapplication. Repellents with higher concentrations of picaridin may be available in some regions outside the United States.
o For additional information regarding the use of repellent on infants and children, please see the “Insect and Other Arthropod Protection” in Traveling Safely with Infants and Children and the “Children” section of CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions about Repellent Use.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors. Clothing may also be sprayed with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent for greater protection. (Remember: don't use permethrin on skin.).
Rabies
Buenos Aires is a city of animal lovers and their pets. Consequently, the city and province of Buenos Aires also harbor a large population of stray or feral animals. Whenever you have a large concentration of canine and feline animals interspersed with the human population, it is inevitable that people will sustain the occasional animal bite. Appropriate treatment of an animal bite for anyone who has never received the rabies vaccine and is bitten by an animal with an unknown rabies status involves injection of human rabies antibodies at the wound site and a five injection series of rabies vaccine at day 0, 3, 7, 14, and 28. A person who has previously completed the rabies series requires only two booster shots of the rabies vaccine on days 0 and 3. In addition, a tetanus injection should be given if one has not been administered in the last five years and antibiotic may be recommended to prevent infection. Special situations do exist which may alter the treatment protocol and therefore, everyone who is bitten should be seen by a qualified medical professional as soon after the bite as is possible.
Many medical professionals (veterinarians and physicians) in the local community will inform you that there is no rabies in Buenos Aires (city and province) and it is true that there has not been a case of rabies reported in four years. However, as rabies is a rapidly fatal disease, no one should assume that their bite is from an uninfected animal or that there is no risk of rabies in Buenos Aires. This is especially true when dealing with aggressive stray or feral animals as their rabies status cannot easily be verified and there is a minute possibility of contracting rabies from these animals.
Please see the CDC’s website for info on rRabies and its prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/
To obtain Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel notices, you may dial the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) from within the U.S.United States, and at 1-404-639-3534 from overseas, or visit theirthe CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel.
Americans living residing or traveling in Argentina are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires through the Embassy website argentina.usembassy.gov. For those without Internet access, you may register at the Embassy, which is located at 4300 Av. Colombia, Palermo, Buenos Aires, telephone 011-54-11-5777-4387, after hours 011-54-11-5777-4873; fax 011-54-11-5777-4293. Public hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to noon and 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday except U.S. and Argentine holidays.