NIGERIA: Nigeria is now battling with a suspected outbreak of yellow fever that might have left dozens dead. In an open statement, The country’s disease control agency said it was supporting authorities in Enugu and Delta states after “reports of a sudden spike in cases and deaths were reported.
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Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) did not give a figure for the dead. On Monday, local health officials quoted in the media said that more than 72 people were feared to have died from the disease in the two regions.
Yellow fever is a viral disease that is largely transmitted by mosquitoes. There is no specific treatment for yellow fever. In many parts of Africa, the percentage of people immunized against yellow fever is quite low even though the vaccine is effective and quite cheap.
The yellow fever outbreak comes after health experts warned that the COVID-19 could cause some diseases to spike due to interrupted vaccination programs. In October, the World Health Organization announced that Nigeria was resuming yellow fever vaccines and aimed to reach around 30 million people.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has so far been spared the brunt of COVID-19 but authorities are wary of a fresh wave. So far the virus has infected more than 64,000 people and killed 1,154 in the country.
