There is an outbreak of Yellow fever in Angola, the World Health Organization says, with a total of 158 deaths so far. As of today it is restricted to the capital, Launda and its immediate environ but WHO says the outbreak may spread to other the other parts of the country if not contained.
Yellow fever is common in Africa, South and Central America but surprisingly not in Asia. Why it is not found in Asia is inexplicable though racial resistance is suspected. Epidemic outbreaks have occurred from time to time in the past in Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and the Gambia. For Nigerians who travel to Central and South America, the disease is found in Honduras, parts of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Yellow fever is a notifiable disease and certain countries still insist on yellow vaccination for travelers from countries where the disease is common before entry.
Yellow fever affects man and monkeys and can spread from monkeys to man.
A full recovery from an infection confers lifelong immunity.
Yellow fever is an infectious disease of sudden onset which is characterized by fever, yellowness of the eyes, bleeding from the nose/mouth/anus, body pains, headache etc. It is caused by a virus which is carried by a specific type of mosquito from man to man or from monkey to man.
Yellow fever is spread by a mosquito which carries the virus from an infected person or monkey to another person.
It could be confused with Hepatitis (infection of the liver), malaria, dengue fever and even Ebola fever. Differentiation is by laboratory tests.
The disease has no treatment but it is vaccine preventable
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