The ministry release said in light of the current yellow fever outbreak in Angola and ongoing transmission in Brazil, Peru China, Kenya, and the Congo, it is reiterating the importance of people getting vaccinated and showing proof when travelling to and from affected countries.
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“But all preventive measures have been taken to ensure that our fellow-country people, travelling to Angola timely receive an anti-yellow fever vaccine”, Mbofana said.
While there is no treatment for yellow fever, the vaccination used to prevent the disease is highly effective. While yellow fever is found in 47 countries across Africa and Central and South America, the overwhelming majority of cases occur in Africa.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) urged immediate action with health director Julie Hall warning that limited vaccine supplies, inadequate disease surveillance systems, poor sanitation and continuous movement across Angola’s borders “could turn a national outbreak into a global crisis”.
Urban settings with lots of mosquitoes are favorable settings for the spread of yellow fever. Reiter noted the same mosquitoes that spread yellow fever also transmit Zika and dengue-and cases of both have risen dramatically in recent months.
Patients with severe infection from yellow fever experience high temperatures, jaundice, bleeding and eventually shock and failure of multiple organs.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday, 696 cases and 293 deaths were reported in Angola as of May 11th as the disease is rapidly spreading despite an active vaccination campaign.
The following affected States Parties participated in the information session of the meeting: Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. While more than 105 million Africans have been vaccinated since 2006 when World Health Organization launched a yellow fever initiative, several African nations still are not completely protected against the disease. Many of those countries require proof of vaccination upon arrival.
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This article has been published with the permission of Project Syndicate – The Return of Yellow Fever. They now recommend anyone visiting Angola to get a Yellow Fever vaccination.
