Yellow fever symptoms may be mild and go unnoticed, or may be severe and affect many organ systems.
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At a media telebriefing today at the conclusion of the emergency meeting, Bruce Aylward, MD, MPH, the WHO’s executive director for outbreaks and health emergencies, said the outbreaks put a strain on the global yellow fever vaccine stockpile, which was another reason the WHO convened the group.
The percentage of people immunised against yellow fever remains low in many parts of Africa, even though the vaccine is almost 100 percent effective and relatively cheap.
Most cases are in Angola, where 2,257 suspected cases are reported.
Oyewale Tomori, DVM, PhD, emergency committee chair, said at the press briefing that the group’s concerns were serious enough to warrant advice to affected countries.
Yellow fever cases have been imported by travelers from Angola to Kenya, China and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and raised the alarm in nations that border Angola, including Namibia and Zambia.
The outbreak began in the capital of Luanda but has now spread to at least 14 of the 18 provinces in the country.
Volunteers and staff of the National Red Cross Societies in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are hard at work in communities across the affected areas, identifying and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, and helping people to reduce their risks of infection.
It’s advising better surveillance for cases, mass vaccination, mosquito control and other measures, however, to make sure the spread of the virus does not worsen.
While not considering the event now to constitute a PHEIC, members of the committee strongly emphasized the serious national and worldwide risks posed by urban yellow fever outbreaks and offered technical advice on immediate actions for the consideration of World Health Organization and member states.
But he said the experts had determined there were now about five million doses in the stockpile, which should swell to seven million by the end of May and 17 million by August. One is Aedes aegypti, the same type of mosquito that transmits Zika virus and dengue fever. “It is sufficient vaccine we believe to stop the transmission that we now know (of)”. Such a declaration was made to combat the Ebola and Zika virus outbreaks.
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Bordering countries and others at risk should intensify their surveillance and preparedness and verify yellow fever vaccination in travelers, the group said.
