Angola's Yellow Fever Outbreak Could Become 'Global Emergency'
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Video: Bring Out Your Dead
Scientists in the US have warned that the shortage of yellow fever vaccines could spark a global health emergency.
An outbreak of the mosquito-borne viral disease has killed 277 people in Angola since December, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association warns that it could spread to other continents.
The WHO says almost six million people have been vaccinated in Angola, which has a population of 24.3 million.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]In April, the WHO said the emergency stockpile of vaccines had ran out.
PeakOil is You
Does Everybody Have Their Yellow Fever Shots?
First unread post • 4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Does Everybody Have Their Yellow Fever Shots?
by vox_mundi » Tue 10 May 2016, 17:06:05
The virus has already spread to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and China.
BBC Africa's health correspondent Anne Soy says vaccines take around six months to produce, so there is a time lag in responding to a large outbreak like the current one in Angola.
Drug manufacturers globally produce just enough vaccines for routine immunisation, she adds.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Y')ellow fever is a virus that can cause bleeding, jaundice and kidney failure, It is spread by mosquitoes, usually the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same species that spreads the Zika virus.
It is endemic in tropical regions of Africa and South America.
A vaccine can prevent infection but there is no specific drug treatment for people who are infected.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late.
Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late.
-
vox_mundi - Intermediate Crude
- Posts: 3939
- Joined: Wed 27 Sep 2006, 03:00:00
Re: Does Everybody Have Their Shots?
by Shaved Monkey » Thu 12 May 2016, 09:16:43
I got jabbed 30 years ago when I went to Africa hope it holds out
Ready to turn Zombies into WWOOFers
-
Shaved Monkey - Intermediate Crude
- Posts: 2578
- Joined: Wed 30 Mar 2011, 01:43:28
Re: Does Everybody Have Their Shots?
by vox_mundi » Fri 20 May 2016, 12:13:20
Yellow fever expands in Angola; vaccination set for DRC, Uganda
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://img.static.reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/styles/attachment-large/public/resources-pdf-previews/564411-ECDM_20160518_Angola_YellowFever_Outbreak_2.png?itok=OnLrWf2z[/img]
Local yellow fever transmission in under way in six of Angola's other highly populated provinces, with the mosquito-borne disease spreading to new provinces and districts, according to the WHO. Weak surveillance systems are struggling with identifying newly affected areas, especially in remote locations such as Cabinda province.
A related outbreak in urban areas of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) underscores the threat of international spread, especially to Namibia and Zambia where borders are porous and populations aren't usually vaccinated against yellow fever, the WHO said.
New developments since last week's report include confirmed cases and local spread in Angola's Namibe province, which borders Namibia. At the end of April, Namibia reported a suspected yellow fever case imported from Angola, but the patient tested negative for the disease on May 6. Namibia has requested 450,000 doses of yellow fever vaccine to use for travelers and refugees.
Also, the WHO said the DRC has reported imported cases from two Angolan provinces where local transmission hasn't been reported: Cabinda and Zaire. Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a narrow strip of land belonging to DRC, and the spread of yellow fever there threatens both DRC and the Republic of Congo, the province's neighbor to the north.
In a backgrounder Q and A report yesterday on Angola's outbreak, the WHO said the location of Africa's yellow fever outbreaks since 2010 has shifted from West Africa—where vaccination programs have has made significant progress with disease control—to central and East Africa, where no mass immunization campaigns have been conducted.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://img.static.reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/styles/attachment-large/public/resources-pdf-previews/564411-ECDM_20160518_Angola_YellowFever_Outbreak_2.png?itok=OnLrWf2z[/img]
Local yellow fever transmission in under way in six of Angola's other highly populated provinces, with the mosquito-borne disease spreading to new provinces and districts, according to the WHO. Weak surveillance systems are struggling with identifying newly affected areas, especially in remote locations such as Cabinda province.
A related outbreak in urban areas of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) underscores the threat of international spread, especially to Namibia and Zambia where borders are porous and populations aren't usually vaccinated against yellow fever, the WHO said.
New developments since last week's report include confirmed cases and local spread in Angola's Namibe province, which borders Namibia. At the end of April, Namibia reported a suspected yellow fever case imported from Angola, but the patient tested negative for the disease on May 6. Namibia has requested 450,000 doses of yellow fever vaccine to use for travelers and refugees.
Also, the WHO said the DRC has reported imported cases from two Angolan provinces where local transmission hasn't been reported: Cabinda and Zaire. Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a narrow strip of land belonging to DRC, and the spread of yellow fever there threatens both DRC and the Republic of Congo, the province's neighbor to the north.
In a backgrounder Q and A report yesterday on Angola's outbreak, the WHO said the location of Africa's yellow fever outbreaks since 2010 has shifted from West Africa—where vaccination programs have has made significant progress with disease control—to central and East Africa, where no mass immunization campaigns have been conducted.
Red Cross Says Angola Yellow Fever Outbreak May Spark 'Global Crisis'
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) urged immediate action with health director Julie Hall warning that limited vaccine supplies, inadequate disease surveillance systems, poor sanitation and continuous movement across Angola's borders "could turn a national outbreak into a global crisis."
"Unvaccinated travelers could transform this outbreak into a regional or international crisis if we don't move quickly to protect vulnerable populations and help communities to reduce their risk of infection," she said in a statement.
WHO calls emergency meeting on yellow fever outbreak
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://www.who.int/emergencies/yellow-fever/monthly-timeline-angola-630.jpg[/img]
The World Health Organisation will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday on the yellow fever outbreak that has hit hardest in Angola but risks spreading further if vaccinations are not ramped up.
Such meetings from the UN agency are often held before the declaration of an international health emergency, as happened amid the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the current surge in neurological disorders linked to the spread of Zika virus in the Americas.
As of May 12, Angola had reported 2,267 suspected yellow fever cases and 293 deaths (12.9%) in an outbreak that began in December and is most heavily concentrated in the capital Luanda (population: 2.776 million).
Eleven people have tested positive for yellow fever in China after returning from Angola, "highlighting the risk of international spread through non-immunised travellers," WHO has said
WHO: Yellow fever outbreak is 'serious and of great concern'
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'Y')ellow fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness, is transmitted to people when a mosquito becomes infected from biting an infected monkey and then bites a person.
Symptoms usually begin three to six days after a bite from an infected mosquito and last about three or four days. They include fever, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Yellow fever can be confused as dengue fever, malaria or another illness.
Fifteen percent of infected individuals experience a second phase of illness within 24 hours of when they first become sick. This can include jaundice and bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, stomach and, eventually, bloody vomit and feces.
There is no treatment for yellow fever. Those who are sick are given supportive care, which can include fluids, pain management and monitoring. Fifty percent of patients who experience this second phase of illness die within 10 to 14 days.
Health officials to weigh declaring global emergency as yellow fever strikes southwest Africa
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')n explosion of yellow fever is not farfetched given the challenges of controlling the spread of the virus. While more than 105 out of 700 million Africans have been vaccinated since 2006 when WHO launched a yellow fever initiative, several African nations still are not completely protected against the disease.
Combating yellow fever is made more challenging because victims don't show definitive symptoms until the disease has progressed, making early detection difficult.
... Also, there is the potential for rapid spread to other countries and regions, threatening the health of large populations in Africa, Asia and elsewhere," Gostin said. "Second, as the crisis escalates, global supplies of the yellow fever vaccine are dwindling and we could easily face a critical shortage.
The outbreak in Angola is particularly worrisome because it is happening in urban areas, such as the capital city Luanda, where the first cases in the country were detected, health officials said.
"You have trillions of mosquitoes and millions of people, so the capacity of transmission of the virus is multiplied enormously,” said Briand. The virus is far easier to fight in sparsely populated rural areas, she said.
“Those urban settings are very well connected with the rest of the world,” said Briand of WHO. “Unfortunately, many people don’t take seriously enough the issue of vaccinations for travelers. This is why we have had many cases exported.”
“The looming fear is a yellow fever outbreak in Asia,” where the disease is not currently endemic, said Lucey, the Georgetown immunologist.