Yellow fever outbreak kills 76 in Nigeria
About 222 suspected cases and 19 confirmed cases have also reported
A yellow fever outbreak has killed 76 in three states in Nigeria for the first 10-day period of November, local health officials said Friday.
A total of 35 deaths were reported from Delta State, 33 deaths were from Enugu State and eight deaths from the state of Bauchi between November 1-11, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control told the official News Agency of Nigeria.
About 222 suspected cases and 19 confirmed cases have also reported from the three states within the period, Ihekweazu said.
He noted that most cases were male aged between 1 and 55 with symptoms ranging from fever, headache, fatigue, jaundice, abdominal pain, epistaxis, vomiting to blood in feces or urine.
To curb the outbreak, the health official said a vaccination exercise is underway.
The yellow fever is mostly caused by a virus that is spread through mosquito bites. The disease is preventable by a single dose of yellow fever vaccine, which provides immunity for life.
