GENEVA (Reuters)
- The World Health Organisation (WHO), which has launched a mass
vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Liberia, said on
Tuesday it had sent 30,000 vaccine doses to prevent a deadly outbreak
in Sierra Leone. In a statement, the United Nations health agency
said the risk of the mosquito-borne disease crossing the border
was high. Since an outbreak was reported on August 16 in Liberia"s
Grand Cape Mount, the coastal region flanking Sierra Leone, 29
cases have been reported in Liberia, including four deaths.
The disease
has spread to six of Liberia"s 14 counties, including the
outskirts of Monrovia, a capital of 1.6 million people. "The
risk of further transmission is high. Both countries have a large
unvaccinated population, the area is notoriously insecure and
hard to access due to rebel activity and there is much movement
of displaced and vulnerable people across the border," the
statement said. Dr Abdul Rahman Wurie, WHO"s disease prevention
and control officer for Sierra Leone, was quoted as saying: "We
have to assume that yellow fever is already with us ... So we
want to move fast to try and prevent it taking hold."
Yellow fever,
which causes hepatitis and jaundice, often has a high mortality
rate, according to WHO. The last outbreak in Sierra Leone occurred
in 1995, causing four deaths among an estimated 45 cases.
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