ABUJA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- An outbreak of yellow fever in Nigeria's northwestern state of Katsina has claimed 24 lives so far, a local health official confirmed on Wednesday.
The yellow fever deaths were recorded in two local government areas of the northern state in a latest outbreak beginning from September 29, said Kabir Mustapha, the permanent secretary of health in Katsina.
So far, 54 cases of the disease have been recorded in Matazu and Danmusa local government areas where the deaths occurred, Mustapha told the media in Katsina, the state capital.
"As a preventive measure, the state government has provided 7 million doses of vaccines, out of which over 6.3 million people between 9 months and 44 years old have been vaccinated against the scourge," the official said.
The yellow fever is mostly caused by a type of mosquitoes called "Aedes Aepyti" found in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is transmitted from person to person through mosquitoes, although there are also forest monkeys that transmit it.
Local experts said the disease often manifests fever, typhoid, among other symptoms and if not detected on time, will affect the blood and the victims will experience renal failure and possible coma.
There is no specific treatment, although the disease is preventable using a single dose of yellow fever vaccine, which provides immunity for life.
In its latest report early this month, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said as of August 31, a total of 2,254 suspected yellow fever cases were reported in 535 local government areas out of a total of 774 in the country.
The local disease control center said all states, including the Federal Capital Territory, had reported at least one suspected case of yellow fever this year. Enditem
