The yellow fever epidemic, which is raging in Angola, has already killed 51 people out of the 240 suspected cases identified since the start of the year, according to a latest report.
“Small but dangerous” was the slogan of the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 7, 2014, World Health Day, dedicated to vector-borne diseases. They include yellow fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease, transmitted by infected mosquitoes, which is sadly in the news on Tuesday.
A yellow fever epidemic currently raging in Angola has in fact killed 51 out of 240 suspected cases since December 30, 2015, according to a report communicated by the country’s health authorities.
“The epicenter of the epidemic is in the municipality of Viana”, a town located in the eastern suburbs of the capital Luanda, where “29 deaths and 92 cases” have been recorded, according to the national director of public health , Adelaide de Carvalho.
In comments reported by Agence France Presse (AFP), she explains that a vaccination campaign has been launched in the country, and that “451,000 people have already been immunized, out of 1.5 million planned”.
No epidemic in Angola since 1986
As a reminder, there is no specific treatment against yellow fever present in the tropical regions of Africa and Amazonian America. However, it can be combated by vaccination or, failing that, by protecting against mosquito bites. For this reason, the Angolan Minister of Health, Jose Van-Dunem, called on the population to use more Bactivec, a disinfectant for stagnant water.
Importantly, Angola is one of the regions of Africa where vaccination against yellow fever is recommended, although the country has not experienced an epidemic since 1986, according to the Minister of Health.
WHO estimates each year to 130,000 the number of yellow fever cases and to 44,000 the number of deaths due to this disease in endemic African countries, where 90% of cases occur.
In France, vaccination against yellow fever is therefore still considered essential for a stay in an endemic area. Recommended from the age of 9 months for children traveling to a country at risk, the injection should be done at least 10 days before departure for the primary vaccination and its duration of protection is 10 years.
And on this last point precisely, the French recommendations have not always followed those issued by World Health Organization. According to the WHO, the yellow fever vaccination booster administered ten years after the primary vaccination is not necessary. In other words, “a single dose of vaccine is sufficient to confer lifelong immunity against yellow fever”.
Regarding this discrepancy, the Air France International Vaccination Center wrote this Tuesday that “following the new cases of yellow fever detected in Angola, the authorities ask travelers to be provided with a certificate of international vaccinations less than 10 years old “.
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