No abstract

The recent yellow fever outbreak in Darfur has been the worst in Africa in 20 years. It began on 2 September 2012. However, it was not until 30 October that samples were sent to a reference laboratory in Senegal for confirmation of the disease. On 9 November 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) Sudan reported 266 suspected cases and 85 fatalities in 20 localities for a case fatality rate of 32%, with Central Darfur state the area hardest hit. The yellow fever vaccination plan to cover 3.5 million persons was finalized. On 13 November 2012 the WHO reported laboratory confirmation of yellow fever in two samples. Mass vaccination began in the region on 20 November. On 10 January 2013 a report was jointly released by the Ministry of Health and the WHO that stated that 171 people had died of the disease as of 9 January 2013 and that there had been 849 suspected cases in Darfur since 2 September 2012. It was estimated that 35 out of the 64 localities of Darfur had been affected by the disease. On 14 February 2013, the WHO reported two confirmed yellow fever cases in Chad in December 2012, an apparent spill-over from Darfur. The Ministry of Health of Chad launched an emergency mass vaccination campaign against yellow fever starting