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| Image source: www.portalangop.co.ao/angola/en_us |
The number of people
killed the yellow fever outbreak in Angola's capital, Luanda, has
risen to 51, less than two months after it started spreading, health officials
have said, Reuters news agency reports.
A
total of 240 people have now been infected, senior health
official Adelaide de Carvalho said.
Experts
say the outbreak has been worsened by a breakdown in sanitation services
and rubbish collection in Luanda and other cities, leading to an increase in
the mosquitoes that carry the disease.
More
than 450,000 people had been vaccinated in the capital, out of a target of
nearly 1.6 million, Ms Carvalho added, Reuters reports.
Advice for travellers: Yellow fever
virus is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease found in
tropical and subtropical areas in South America and Africa. While infection is
a very rare in Australian travellers, International Health Regulations (IHR)
often means proof of vaccination is required from travellers leaving an area
where yellow fever transmission occurs. The IHR currently specify that
travellers should renew immunization every 10 years. Australia will adopt a WHO
recommendation on yellow fever certificates, extending their validity from 10
years to the life of the person, as part of new laws that will come into effect
on June 16, 2016.
SOURCE: Travelvax website
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