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Bid to halt yellow fever in Côte d’Ivoire

Men, women and children receiving yellow fever vaccination in Odienné, northern Côte d'Ivoire, December 2009 Koffi Samuel/IRIN
Côte d’Ivoire’s Health Ministry and the World Health Organization are vaccinating tens of thousands of people against yellow fever in the north after an outbreak starting in November killed 21 people.

Health workers are targeting 303,518 people in the Denguélé region – in the main city, Odienné, and in the towns of Minignan and Madinani, according to a WHO and Health Ministry communiqué.

In an initial response to the November outbreak health workers vaccinated 33,000 people in the areas immediately surrounding the known cases, in Odienné and Minignan. But the mosquito-borne viral infection eventually reached other towns, according to WHO.

In the current campaign, 26 to 31 December, all those over six months old who have never been vaccinated or whose last yellow fever vaccination was over 10 years ago (the effectiveness period) will receive the vaccine, except for pregnant women and the severely ill.

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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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