Yellow Fever Spreads In Africa

Since December 2015, the yellow fever outbreak has killed hundreds of people in Angola. In many cases fatal, the mosquito-borne disease has now extended as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) already killing 21 people.

On March 24, the Digital Journal reported that the present outbreak is the worst in Angola in over thirty years and the disease has since spread throughout the country, 16 provinces to be exact.

The DRC reported this week that 21 people have died from yellow fever, many of the deaths being individuals who had contracted the disease in Angola.

World Health Organization (WHO) says that there is a great risk of the disease spreading further in the DRC because of the amount of travel between the two countries reported by www.abc.net.au

Yellow Fever has spread to other African countries as well. Health officials from Uganda are also reporting yellow fever victims in Masaka, with a minimum of 10 people who have died. World Health Organization says it is not clear if the cases in Uganda are related to the Angola outbreak because of the distance between the 2 countries.

Other cases that are related to the yellow fever “plague” in Angola include almost 10 cases in China, 2 in Kenya and a few more in Mauritania and Morocco.

The WHO is reporting the cases “were imported” from Angola. “The report of yellow fever infection in travellers returning from Angola … highlights the risk of international spread,” the WHO statement said, reports CNN News.