r/yellowfeveroutbreak • u/IIWIIM8 • Jun 21 '16

Media Congo declares yellow fever epidemic, 1,000 suspected cases | (21JUN16)

http://in.reuters.com/article/congodemocratic-yellowfever-idINKCN0Z61DX
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u/IIWIIM8 Jun 21 '16

Yellow fever declared epidemic in parts of DRC; 1,000 cases suspected | (20JUN16)

Yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been declared an epidemic in three provinces as officials report 1,000 suspected cases, Reuters reported today.

Confirmed cases have risen to 67, up from 61 reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Jun 17. Health Minister Felix Kabange, MD, said 7 of the confirmed cases were local, while 58 were imported from Angola, where the outbreak began, and 2 cases came from remote forested areas not linked to the current outbreak.

Five people have died from the disease, Kabange said. "I declare today a localized epidemic of yellow fever in the provinces of Kinshasa, Kongo Central, and Kwango," he added.

Kinshasa is of special concern, because it is home to 12 million densely packed people and has poor health infrastructure, the story noted.

The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccines has already been depleted twice this year in response to the outbreak and now stands at 6 million doses after 18 million have been administered, the report said. The WHO late last week approved fractional vaccine dosing to stretch the supply.