Yellow Fever Outbreak in Nigeria, a Pandemic; WHO Raises Concern

The World Health Organization has said Nigeria is currently undergoing an outbreak of yellow fever with a total of 172 deaths reported across five states in the country.

The body made this known in a recent report titled, ‘WHO supports Nigeria in responding to the yellow fever outbreak amidst an ongoing pandemic’.

According to the WHO, a total of 530 suspected cases have also been reported by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

It stated, “The World Health Organization is supporting Nigeria to respond to the outbreak. As of December 3 and since the beginning of the outbreak, a total of 530 suspected and 48 confirmed cases have been reported by the country’s Centre for Disease Control, with 172 deaths among suspected cases across the five affected states. Sample testing is ongoing at the national reference laboratories in the country.

“With the onset of the current outbreak, epidemiologists and other health professionals have been deployed in each of the affected states. Outbreak investigation is ongoing through Rapid Response Teams under the coordination of respective state ministries of health. Workers at selected hospitals in each of the five affected states have been trained and provided with supplies to treat yellow fever patients.

“The relative proximity of Delta, Enugu, Benue and Ebonyi states with Lagos is an added concern, because the introduction of yellow fever outbreaks in urban environments with a large unvaccinated population can lead to rapid amplification with associated severe impacts. Population movements that could contribute to spreading of the virus may have been reduced in the COVID-19 context. However, there is a lack of data on this, and the risk of spread should be monitored.”