Health workers are launching on Monday 23 November a massive yellow fever vaccination campaign for nearly 12 million West Africans.

World Health Organization spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said the workers will begin vaccinating in Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone on Monday. She says local health teams also will offer vitamin A and deworming tablets and, in Sierra Leone, the measles vaccine.

There are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever worldwide each year, causing 30,000 deaths, according to WHO.

The mosquito-borne virus is endemic in Africa, and there is no known cure. The 30-year vaccine is effective for 99 percent of people.

WHO says some 29 million people have been vaccinated in West Africa since 2007.

In the meantime, a nationwide vaccination programme for toddlers against the A(H1N1) flu virus also starts on Monday in the Netherlands. 

The programme poses a major logistical challenge for the health authorities. Vaccinations will be given at 250 locations around the country, and more than a million people have been called up for a jab this week. Those eligible for vaccination are 830,000 children aged between six months and four years, and almost 200,000 parents or siblings of babies under six months.

Source: WHO/RNW