By Grace thomas, Abuja
The World Health Organisation ( WHO) has raised the alarm that about 160million Nigerians are at the risk of contracting the dreaded Yellow Fever disease
The figure is slightly lower than Nigeria’s estimated 200 million population
WHO said the number represents almost 25% of all Africans at risk of the disease.
It established that the nation had immunized around 45 million people against the disease during the last two years of the Coronavirus pandemic, which is about twice as many as during the epidemic’s raging outbreak.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) provided the estimated vaccination figure at the time of filming two films for the WHO Africa region’s Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy, according to a recent publication on the organisation’s website.
The EYE Strategy, a collaboration between the WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, was established in response to Yellow Fever and designated Nigeria as a high-risk nation.
The yellow fever virus is found in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and South America. The virus is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito.
It is a very rare cause of illness in U.S. travelers.
Illness ranges from a fever with aches and pains to severe liver disease with bleeding and yellowing skin (jaundice). Yellow fever infection is diagnosed based on laboratory testing, a person’s symptoms, and travel history.
So far there is no medicine to treat or cure the infection.
To prevent getting sick from yellow fever, use insect repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and get vaccinated.
However, efforts made to get official reaction on the worrisome prediction from the federal miinistry of health proved abortive as at the time of going to press