Yellow fever death toll mounts to 20

Twenty people have died of yellow fever in Cote d'Ivoire out of a total of 169 infected with the virus so far, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Seven of the deaths have occurred in the economic capital, Abidjan, where a total of 42 cases have been reported, WHO said. WHO has launched a campaign to vaccinate some three million people in Abidjan so as to stop the disease from spreading. The campaign started on Friday in health facilities across the town, including primary schools. Up to Monday, 775,000 people had been vaccinated, WHO said. However the current stock is expected to run out at the weekend and an additional 600,000 doses are needed to complete the campaign. The agency said it was closely working with partners to purchase the vaccine.