Yellow fever kills at least 150 people in Angola

More than 150 people have been killed due to a yellow fever epidemic in Angola, with over 50 deaths occurring last month alone, the World Health Organization officials have said.

WHO are also warning that the possibility of spread to other provinces was very high and deaths could increase. 

“The possibility of spreading out to other provinces or even to the all country is much higher than if it had happened in a rural area,” Hernando Agudelo Ospina, a WHO representative said.

“This is an urban pattern of outbreak of Yellow Fever and it is much more complicated to tackle and deal with.”

Like other viral hemorrhagic fever, there is no specific treatment for the disease. The deadly disease is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and Latin America’s Amazon region. It can, however, be prevented by vaccination. 

City authorities in Luanda had slashed their budget for rubbish collection in order to cope with a budget crisis. This has led to waste piling up and has served as a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes which transmits the disease. This outbreak has therefore been attributed to poor sanitary conditions.

Yellow fever symptoms include severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. The disease could progress to multi-organ failure and subsequently death. 

Poor sanitation conditions have also led to an increase in malaria, cholera and chronic diarrhoea in Luanda and other cities.