Faces Behind Brazil's Yellow Fever Outbreak

May 25, 2017 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mark Hoffman

Emergency care physician Rodrigo Lobo was the first to suspect a yellow fever outbreak in the area around Teófilo Otoni, Brazil. The city is about 460 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Kidney specialist Ricardo Vitorio is one of the few doctors who remained on duty at Santa Rosália Hospital when the yellow fever outbreak hit. Vitorio remembers working seven days a week, getting what little sleep he could at the hospital. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

José Ramos, who nearly died of yellow fever, waits outside the intensive care unit where his brother, Vando Ramos Ferreira, is being treated for the virus at the Santa Rosália Hospital. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Still weak and feeling the effects of yellow fever, Nilson Barcelos walks home along a road in São João Pequeno, Brazil. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Watila Santos is shown in this family photo. Before his death from yellow fever, he lived in the village of Córrego da Luz, Brazil. The village is about 90 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Roberto dos Santos (foreground) talks about his late brother, Watila, with his cousin, Dalila de Oliveira Santos (background), in the village of Córrego da Luz, Brazil. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Valdeta Viera dos Santos (foreground) and Dalila de Oliveira Santos share stories about late family member Watila Santos. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

A family photo shows Alessandro Valenca, 38, in the hospital in mid-April after a relapse of symptoms that he has been struggling with since his bout with yellow fever. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Alessandro Valenca, 38, carries his son, Davi Luiz, on his shoulders while walking to a gathering with his extended family at his parent's home in the village of Córrego Da Luz, Brazil. Image by Mark Hoffman. Brazil, 2017.

Yellow fever, a disease that moves from animals to people, is hitting hard in Brazil. Here are some of the people who have been affected by the outbreak.