Health

To curb resurgence of epidemic in Douala: Gov’t announces launch of free yellow fever vaccination campaign.

by Chi Emeh
09 Jul 2024 11:45
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File photo: Children in Djoum community in South Region with vaccination cards

The Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie, has announced the launch of a free yellow fever mass vaccination campaign to curb the revival of epidemic in the Littoral Region.
The announcement, made public recently by the minister, comes after several confirmed cases of the yellow fever were reported since 2023 by the health ministry and the World Health Organisation, WHO.

The vaccination campaign in the Littoral Region is expected to take place from the July 24 and end on July 30. It is targeting children and adults between the age of nine to 60, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and those critically ill.

Targeting the Littoral Region, especially the city of Douala, the free vaccination will involve inhabitants in the Bangue, Boko, Bonassama, Cite des Palmiers, Deido, Japoma, Logbaba, New-bell and Nylon neighbourhoods.

This initiative comes in due to the recorded increase in the number of cases in the city of Douala. The government aims at implementing vector control methods against yellow fever due to its geographical location in the country.

Experiencing an increase in the number of positive cases, the Ministry of Health has put in place a number of measures for the population to consider in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

The prevention methods put in place by the government include vector control, surveillance at different entry points and boosting herd immunity through mass single dose vaccination.

According to WHO, Cameroon is a high risk country for yellow fever and has seen an increasing number of cases since 2021, during which 45 cases were detected, 2022, 41 cases detected and in 2023, 63 cases were detected with 26 cases added by the end of the year.

In its report, WHO cites 13 African countries severely attacked by epidemics with Cameroon featuring among them.

According to reports by the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, EPI, 26 health districts out of 200 in the country are experiencing confirmed epidemic cases, which have caused the Ministry of Health to carry out risk analysis in collaboration with EPI. This is targeting seven health districts in the Littoral, Adamawa, North, and South Regions of the country.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3162 of Monday July 8, 2024