Yellow fever outbreaks to threaten tourism in Africa

The yellow fever outbreak registering rapid increase was reported in Angola and confirmed by the Institute Pasteur Dakar (IP-D) at the beginning of the year

2420 cases of yellow fever have been reported so far in Angola. Despite vaccination campaigns in cities like Luanda, Huambo and Benguela, 298 people died here due to the disease. Although more than seven million people have been vaccinated so far, the outbreak in Angola cannot be controlled: six urban provinces and districts have reported new cases of viral infection.

Moreover, there's a high risk of spread to neighbouring or distant countries. Congo, Kenya and China have already reported yellow fever cases believed to be imported from Angola via tourists that were not immunised. Uganda also shares 60 cases of yellow fever, epidemiologically not linked to the outbreak in Angola.

The risk of the virus spreading to bordering countries such as Namibia or Zambia, as well as the risk of the epidemics spreading internationally is currently under official assessment, as WHO's Director-General warns that the situation is a serious public health event which requires full international support, especially for countries where human population is highly susceptible to the virus presence.

The authorities have imposed emergency measures to stop the virus from spreading

An adequate surveillance system for identifying new cases has been implemented in the affected areas.

The Emergency Committee (EC) at WHO provided specific advice to Member States on how to as much as possible avoid the yellow fever outbreak.

Mass vaccination campaigns, vector control and case management measures were applied in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Proper vaccination of all travellers was also required.

More than 3 million vaccine doses are yet to be delivered to the affected areas in Angola, Congo and Uganda until the end of May. Namibia and Zambia have also requested 500.000 yellow fever vaccines for travellers and refugees.

As the media attention on yellow fever is increasing, the Emergency Committee constantly offers travelling advice and vaccine supply information updates. Moreover, communication is constant between the WHO HQ communications team and Regional managers to ensure the yellow fever crisis is being addressed properly.