The yellow fever outbreak in the country has claimed no fewer than 101 people in two states to include Katsina and Bauchi, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed.
According to a statement jointly signed by Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General, NCDC and Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director and CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the agencies revealed that Nigeria has experienced an upsurge in cases of yellow fever with 511 suspected cases in the two states and Benue between the 1st of August to 5th of November 2019.
According to the statement, of the 511 suspected cases, 309 were from Katsina, 162 from Bauchi, and 40 from Benue. While 43 were confirmed positive in Katsina, 34 in Bauchi and 6 in Benue, totalling 83.
The statement further disclosed that since January 2019, Katsina State has recorded 599 suspected cases with 43 confirmed cases and 77 deaths, Bauchi recorded 183 suspected cases, 34 confirmed cases and 24 deaths, while Benue state has recorded 150 suspected cases, six confirmed cases and no death.
“A mass vaccination campaign was carried out in the State (Katsina) in September 2019”, the statement read.
“Bauchi State has been reporting suspected cases of yellow fever mostly in Alkaleri LGA. Following the outbreak in Alkaleri, a reactive vaccination campaign was carried out.
“Vaccination campaigns have been carried out in three LGAs of Benue this year -Vandekiya LGA in January 2019, Oju and Ado LGAs in September 2019”, the statement added.
In response to the increase in cases, a multi-agency yellow fever Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was activated on the 5th of November 2019 and three Rapid Response Team (RRTs) have been deployed to Katsina, Bauchi and Benue this week to support the outbreak response.
NPHCDA, NCDC and development partners recently implemented yellow fever mass vaccination campaigns in Alkaleri LGA of Bauchi, two LGAs of Benue (Oju and Ado) and all the LGAs in Katsina.”
All the campaigns were implemented between September and October 2019. In total, yellow fever vaccination campaigns have been implemented in 13 of the 36 states in Nigeria and in the FCT.
According to the statement, since the re-emergence of yellow fever in Nigeria in 2017, NCDC, NPHCDA and the National Arbovirus and Vector Research Centre (NAVRC) have been working together to support states to investigate each case and respond to outbreaks.
