Yellow fever vaccination campaign begins

A vaccination campaign to halt the spread of yellow fever in Imotong and Ikotos, Eastern Equatoria, southern Sudan, began on Sunday, Ben Parker, the spokesman for the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, told IRIN. A total of 40,000 doses of the vaccine had been delivered by air to Ikotos on Saturday, he said, and 75 trained vaccinators had begun work the next day. Imotong town, the epicentre of the outbreak, and the Momoria camp for internally displaced people on the edge of Ikotos, were to constitute the initial focus, he said. The IDP camp is home to several thousand people fleeing insecurity in the area. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had ordered a further 125,000 vaccines, which it hoped would arrive by next week so that the campaign could continue without interruption, Parker added. The Sudanese Ministry of Health and WHO were also planning a parallel campaign in government-held areas, such as the garrison town of Torit, in Eastern Equatoria, he said. Oxfam and Norwegian Church Aid have begun the delivery of 1,700 mosquito nets to the area. To date, 36 people in the area have died of the haemorrhagic disease. Yellow fever can cause bleeding from the mouth, eyes, nose and stomach and has an estimated mortality rate of about 30 percent. Death usually occurs within 10 to 14 days.