SUMMARY
A yellow fever outbreak was detected in Angola late in December 2015 and confirmed by the Institut Pasteur Dakar (IP-D) on 20 January 2016. Subsequently, a rapid increase in the number of cases has been observed.
As of 4 May 2016, Angola has reported 2149 suspected cases of yellow fever with 277 deaths.
Among those cases, 661 have been laboratory confirmed. Despite vaccination campaigns in Luanda, there is still circulation of the virus in most districts of Luanda and in five additional provinces.Three countries have reported confirmed yellow fever cases exported from Angola: Democratic Republic of The Congo (DRC) (37 cases), Kenya (two cases) and People’s Republic of China (11 cases). Namibia has also reported a suspect yellow fever case exported from Angola. This highlights the risk of international spread through non-immunised travellers.
On 22 March 2016, the Ministry of Health of DRC notified human cases of yellow fever in connection with Angola. The Government officially declared the yellow fever outbreak on 23 April. As of 4 May, DRC has reported 5 probable cases and 39 laboratory confirmed cases: 37 imported from Angola, reported in Kongo central province and Kinshasa and two autochthonous cases in Ndjili, Kinshasa and Matadi, Kongo central province. The possibility of locally acquired infections is under investigation for at least 10 non-classified cases in both Kinshasa and Kongo central provinces.
In Uganda, the Ministry of Health notified yellow fever cases in Masaka district on 9 April 2016.
As of 4 May, seven yellow fever cases are laboratory confirmed in three districts: Masaka,
Rukungiri and Kalangala. According to sequencing results, those clusters are not epidemiologically linked to Angola.The virus in Angola and DRC is largely concentrated in main cities and is likely to have been introduced to the cities following increased yellow fever viral circulation among monkeys in the forest.