Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/715731
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST 2016 A deadly African virus is on the brink of spreading to Europe and the Americas amid the largest outbreak in more than 30 years and vaccine stocks are too low to cope with a global outbreak a charity has warned. "It has got us incredibly wor- ried," said Ruairidh Villar of Save the Children, which is help- ing with the vaccination effort. "We've just scrambled an emer- gency team to the Democratic Republic of Congo to support a last-ditch vaccination campaign before the outbreak reaches Kin- shasa. Our fear is it is likely to go global if we can't stop it soon and it hits the city." While noting that the disease is not as fatal as Ebola he said "it is pretty awful." Yellow fever can cause bleed- ing from the ears, eyes and nose, organ failure, jaundice and death in the most severe cases, and is considered such a threat that many African nations re- fuse entry to anyone who has not been vaccinated. Yet despite those regulations, thousands of suspected cases have been reported in the Dem- ocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after the disease crossed the border from Angola. The symptoms include fe- ver, headache, jaundice, mus- cle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Some people recover within a few days but a minor- ity become severely ill, suffering organ failure, bleeding from the eyes and death. In Angola, there have been nearly 4,000 suspected cases of yellow fever of which 879 have been confirmed while DRC had 68 confirmed cases and more than 2,200 suspected cases, with about 400 reported deaths in the two countries, mostly in Angola. Almost 19 million doses of vaccine have been administered since January, but there are only 5 million left in the emergency stockpile. The vaccine takes a year to make, so even with the handful of manufacturers work- ing f lat out, stocks cannot be re- plenished quickly. If it takes hold in Kinshasa, a densely packed city of more than 10 million people, it is feared that infected mosquitoes could travel beyond the central African region, which has been experiencing so severe an out- break that vaccine stocks are al- most exhausted. Other cases have already been reported in Uganda and in Ken- ya, and earlier this year China notified the World Health Or- ganisation (WHO) of 11 cases imported by migrant workers coming back from Africa. Save The Children has dis- patched a rapid response unit of experts to DRC to assist with an emergency vaccination pro- gramme. They will support a government drive to inoculate half a million people in the capi- tal of Kinshasa in just 10 days, starting on Wednesday. News MENU NEW BAR & RESTAURANT LOCATION NEW We are moving next door to Table One Restaurant on Tigne Seafront opposite the Terrace Restaurant. Entrance from Table One or the Hotel Fortina. Using only the finest & freshest ingredients we specialise in a selection of delicious pizzas and homemade burgers. Restaurant on e Restaurant. rtina. redients we specialise in memade burgers. View from Il Giardino of the Terrace Restaurant & Valletta OPEN DAILY FOR LUNCH OR DINNER. LIVE FOOTBALL AVAILABLE For reservations please call: 2346 6666 Fortina Spa Resort, Tigné Seafront Sliema SLM 3012, Malta www.FortinaSpaResort.com VIEW MENU Fears of yellow fever epidemic grow as vaccine stocks dwindle Residents of the Kisenso district of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, received yellow fever vaccinations last month