One billion people in Africa to be vaccinated against yellow fever

Apr 11, 2018

Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes

HEALTH | YELLOW FEVER

Nearly one billion people in Africa will be vaccinated against yellow fever in 27 high-risk countries by 2026 with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), Gavi - the Vaccine Alliance, Unicef and more than 50 health partners.

According to a press release issued from Abuja, Nigeria, yesterday, the commitment is part of the Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) in Africa strategy. The strategy was launched by WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Nigeria's Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole and partners at a regional meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday.

"The world is facing an increased risk of yellow fever outbreaks and Africa is particularly vulnerable," Ghebreyesus said. He added: "With one injection, we can protect a person for life against this dangerous pathogen. This unprecedented commitment by countries will ensure that by 2026 Africa is free of yellow fever epidemics."

Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.

Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

A small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those die within 7 to 10 days.

The virus is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Central and South America.

Forty- seven countries in Africa and Central and South America are either endemic for, or have regions that are endemic for yellow fever. A modelling study based on African data sources estimated the burden of yellow fever during 2013 was 84 000-170 000 severe cases and 29 000-60 000 deaths.

In September 2016, the Ministry of Health declared Uganda yellow fever-free since it broke out in Masaka and Rukungiri districts in March that year.

By May 2016, a total of 65 cases of yellow fever had been reported in the Greater Masaka districts and Rukungiri, but only three people were confirmed dead.

The then director general of health services, Dr. Ben Mbonye, noted that following the ministry of health survey on the prevalence of yellow fever in the respective districts, it indicated that there were no more new cases of the disease.

During the three-day EYE strategy regional launch meeting, representatives from key African countries, WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and other partners are developing a roadmap on how to roll-out the EYE strategy at national level. This implementation effort follows the endorsement of the strategy by African ministers of health at the 67th WHO regional committee in September 2017.

"This comprehensive, global strategy offers an unprecedented opportunity to end the devastating  yellow fever epidemics that periodically impact Africa," Dr Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said.

Unicef's chief of health, Stefan Peterson, said: "Today, the threat of yellow fever looms larger than ever before, especially for thousands of children across Africa." He said given that almost half of the people to be vaccinated are children under 15 years, this campaign is critical to saving children's lives, and would go a long way toward stamping out this disease.

The eliminate yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy launched in 2017 is an unprecedented initiative. With more than 50 partners involved, the EYE partnership supports 40 at-risk countries in Africa and the Americas to prevent, detect, and respond to yellow fever suspected cases and outbreaks. The partnership aims at protecting at-risk populations, preventing international spread and containing outbreaks rapidly.    

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});