The yellow fever outbreak that started in early December in the district of Viana, Luanda province has grown to some 240 cases, including 51 deaths, according to Angola health officials.
Issues with sanitation and disposing of garbage has been pointed to as a trigger to the increase in the mosquito vector that carries the virus, particularly in the Luanda area. Other infectious diseases like malaria and cholera are also up.
The World Health Organization said Friday in the affected districts of Luanda, there is a high density of Aedes Aegypti, the primary vector of yellow fever; consequently, the risk of spread to unaffected districts is high. This risk is further exacerbated by the high proportion of susceptible individuals.
On 2 February, an immunization campaign was launched in Luanda. The campaign will initially cover a target population of 1,578,085 in Viana.
Over the weekend, it was reported that China is going to give Angola 500,000 U.S. dollars to buy yellow fever vaccines.
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