23 January 2018 – It is peak summer in Brazil and the city of São Paulo has closed its zoo and botanical gardens as confirmed cases of yellow fever continue to rise across the southeastern states (that include the big cities of São Paulo and Rio-de-Janeiro). So far this season there have been 69 deaths from approx. 150 confirmed cases of yellow fever. Vaccination against yellow fever is recommended to those traveling there. Efforts to prevent the yellow fever virus from spilling into the domestic Aedes aegypti are ongoing.  Last year yellow fever cases were restricted to those that ventured into the jungle where they were bit by Haemagogus and iridescent blue Sabethes mosquitoes.