Yellow Fever Outbreak in Africa Strains World Vaccine Stocks
- Disease is suspected to have spread from Angola outbreak
- Emergency vaccination stockpile has been depleted twice
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An outbreak of Yellow fever that began in Angola and spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo risks draining global stocks of the vaccine needed to prevent infections with the virus, which can lead to jaundice, abdominal pains and death, from spreading.
At least 3,294 suspected cases have been reported in Angola since December, of which 861 have been confirmed through laboratory tests, according to the World Health Organization. Congolese Public Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said Monday that 67 cases of the disease have been confirmed in his country, of which all but three are suspected to be linked to the outbreak in neighboring Angola.