A syringe carrying a dose of yellow fever vaccine. (Courtesy)

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with aid agencies has initiated a reactive Yellow Fever vaccination campaign as part of preventive response to the disease outbreak in Western Equatoria State in December 2023.

In a statement on Tuesday, WHO said as of 3 February 2024, 48 suspected and two confirmed Yellow Fever cases were reported from Yambio, Nzara, Tambura, Ibba, Ezo, and Maridi Counties of Western Equatoria State.

“To address the outbreak, a multidisciplinary team of epidemiologists, public health officers, entomologists, laboratory specialists, and risk communication experts conducted an extensive epidemiological investigation to characterize the extent of the outbreak, identify risk/exposure factors and implement control and prevention measures,” Dr Yolanda Awel, the National Health Minister has said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan says: “This reactive measure aims to protect populations at high risk and act as a bridge towards integrating the yellow fever vaccine into routine immunization systems.”

According to WHO, Yellow fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, poses a significant public health threat.

Its symptoms include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, and can lead to severe complications with patients succumbing within 7 to 10 days.