Since the start of 2016, 1,044 people have reportedly been infected with yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For the most part, these are imported cases.
Yellow fever is spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As of June 15, 1,044 people have been infected with this mosquito-borne virus, including 71 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday.
The UN agency and the countries affected by this epidemic have been monitoring closely the evolution of the situation since the appearance of the first cases in Angola last March. Among the thousands of cases in DRC, 61 cases have been biologically confirmed, including 53 cases imported from Angola.
“The majority of these cases in the DRC concern mainly men between the ages of 20 and 34. This male preponderance probably reflects the gender of workers returning from Angola, where the current virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, originates, ”added the UN agency.
In Angola, the epidemic continues. So far this year, 3,131 cases have been reported, and 847 of them have been laboratory confirmed. To date, 345 people have died. The WHO specifies that suspected cases are now identified in all provinces of the country.
Failure of vaccination campaigns
To counter this outbreak, massive vaccination campaigns are underway in Angola and DRC, particularly in the neighboring areas. More than 7 million people have already been vaccinated. But for now, these campaigns are failing. The virus continues, in fact, to persist and reaches new regions in Angola, in particular because of “porous borders” and “an inadequate surveillance system”.
The WHO fears the spread of the virus internationally by unvaccinated travelers. The UN agency asks them to ensure that they are vaccinated and have their valid vaccination certificate to prove that they are protected against this disease.
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