The last reported yellow fever outbreak in Uganda was in 2010; however, since January 2016, Uganda has been experiencing a yellow fever outbreak in Masaka and Rukungiri districts, with 30 suspected cases and 11 deaths.
This has prompted an emergency mass vaccination campaign in Masaka and Rukungiri districts. East African Business Week reports that Uganda has received 714,579 doses of yellow fever vaccine for the campaign which is scheduled to commence this week.
“The importance of carrying out a massive vaccination campaign is to interrupt the transmission. With this exercise, the affected population will be able to achieve immunity against yellow fever,” said Ms Aida Girma, UNICEF representative in Uganda.
The Ministry of Health of Uganda, with the support of WHO, Centers for Disease Control, Médecins Sans Frontières and other partners are supporting the response to the outbreak.
Yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus, which is spread through mosquito bites. Symptoms take 3–6 days to develop and include fever, chills, headache, backache, and muscle aches. About 15% of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can lead to bleeding, shock, organ failure, and sometimes death.
Related:
- Africa meningitis: 13,000 cases, 1127 deaths through first 4 months
- Kenya: 16 hospitalized for suspected anthrax after eating a sick cow
- Yellow fever: Angola update, Public health emergency, Threat to US?
2 thoughts on “Uganda yellow fever outbreak results in 11 deaths to date”