[Yellow fever in Venezuela]

In Venezuela the yellow fever has been presented in three wild focuses: San Camilo in the Tachira State, South of the Lake in the Zulia and Guayana. The last human case registered of urban yellow fever happened in 1918 in the city of Coro, Falcon State. Nevertheless, according to the epidemic registration of the Ministry of Health and Social Development corresponding to the epidemiological week no. 38 of the year 2003, 318 cases of wild yellow fever had been investigated (173 of the Zulia and 145 of Tachira), of which were confirmed 31, with a mortality of 58.0%. Previous to the appearance of this outbreak, it was notified an epizooty in monkeys with high mortality in November of 2002 in the Jesus Maria Semprum municipality of the Zulia State, persisting until September of 2003, extended to the Tachira State. Possible reasons of the reemergency of this illness are analyzed based on the high mobilization of displaced population, remote areas and of difficult access, high concentration of indigenous population (Bari, Yuepa, Wayúu) and border conflict.