Yellow fever outbreak in Angola kills over 150 people

A yellow fever epidemic has killed at least 158 people in Angola since December, with more than 50 deaths occurring last month alone, the World Health Organization officials have said. A WHO representative in the capital, Luanda, said on Friday that the "possibility of spreading to other provinces" was much higher, and deaths due to the viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes has been accelerating. Most of the deaths have been in the bustling capital of Luanda, said Dr. Margaret Harris, a pandemic expert at the WHO. She described it as a "large outbreak." The disease is transmitted by two types of mosquitoes, one of which is responsible for the Zika virus that has ravaged the Americas. The yellow fever virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected monkey and then bites a human being.
Angola lies in the yellow fever belt of Africa where 90 percent of about 60,000 annual global deaths occur due to the disease, according to WHO data. An estimated 84,000-170,000 severe cases of yellow fever occur in Africa. There is no specific treatment for the viral haemorrhagic disease which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and Latin America's Amazon region. Vaccination is the best preventive measure against the disease. Poor sanitation has been the main cause of the outbreak as it provides a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Yellow fever symptoms include severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue, according to WHO. The disease can enter a toxic phase in some people, leading to organ failure and death.