Kinshasa, April 19th, 2021 (CPA).- More or less 16 million people aged 9 months to 60 years are targeted to be vaccinated against yellow fever from April 26th, 2021 in the provinces of Bas-Uele, Haut- Uele, Mongala, Tshuapa, Tshopo, Nord-Ubangi and Sud-Ubangi located in the northern part of DRC, the deputy national director of the expanded vaccination program (EPI ), Dr. Aime Cikomola.
The official launch of this vaccination campaign will take place on Monday, April 26th, 2021 in Kisangani, capital of Tshopo province, he said. According to the deputy director of EPI, the launch of the vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Equateur province was delayed because it has just experienced an epidemic of Ebola virus disease which did not allow it to do well prepare.
The vaccination campaign that will be launched on April 26th is a preventive campaign because the country is currently not experiencing any yellow fever epidemic. DRC, with the support of its partners, is keen to prevent epidemics of yellow fever, a very serious viral disease that affects the liver and has a high lethality (mortality), explained the deputy director of EPI.
Dr. Cikomola indicated that the entire population of DRC will be vaccinated against yellow fever, but given the vastness of the country and the means available, these vaccination campaigns are being organized gradually, starting with the provinces which present a high risk of epidemics to end with those which have low risks.
DRC remains a country at risk of yellow fever epidemics because of its favorable ecosystem and the presence of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. Recent epidemics of yellow fever were recorded in DRC at short intervals in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016. A large epidemic was recorded in Kinshasa and in the provinces of Kongo Central and Kwango, bordering Angola. In 2018, the provinces of Tshuapa and Bas Uele experienced epidemics of yellow fever.
Yellow fever is a viral disease that plagues the tropics of Africa and the Americas. It mainly affects humans and monkeys, and is transmitted through the bite of Aedes mosquitoes. Hence the need to take care of your environment, to sleep under the insecticide-treated mosquito net and to be vaccinated to protect yourself against this disease.