The country’s president declared a state of emergency after four of those infected died in the San Pedro region. Four more suspected cases were discovered in the town of Lorenzo, near Paraguay's capital of Asuncion.

Paraguayan Health Minister Oscar Martinez has requested urgent shipments of vaccine from neighboring countries, and from the WHO’s International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.

The lack of adequate vaccine supply has caused panic among some of the population. In the Asuncion suburb of Luque, hundreds of protesters tried to knock down the door of a health center, according to Reuters.

In neighboring Brazil, the health ministry confirmed a new death from yellow fever in the state of Mato Grosso, bringing the total number of victims to 15 in that country.

The disease has also been detected in Argentina.

Yellow fever is a viral disease that is transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes. It has caused extensive epidemics in Africa and the Americas.

Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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