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The Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH) declared a yellow fever outbreak. On 6 March 2022, the MOH reported four cases of yellow fever (YF) confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), with specimens collected between 3 January 2022 and 18 February 2022.
Three cases are from Wakiso district (Katabi, Masulita, and Kitende sub-counties) and one case is from Masaka district (Bukakata sub-county).
As of 16 March 2022, a total of eight PRNT positive cases were reported, of which seven have been investigated and four have a history of vaccination against yellow fever.
Uganda falls within the YF endemic zone in Africa and is classified as a high-risk country in the “Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics” (EYE) Strategy. The exact prevalence and incidence of yellow
fever in Uganda is not known. In addition, the country has previously registered several YF outbreaks with the most recent outbreaks reported in 2020 in Buliisa and Moyo districts, and 2019 in Masaka and Koboko districts.
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However, YF vaccine has not yet been introduced into routine immunization and the MOH is currently planning for a preventive campaign in selected districts. Accordingly, these recurrent outbreaks illustrate the ongoing risk of sylvatic spillover of YF and risk for disease amplification in both rural and densely settled urban areas in the largely unimmunized population.
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