Mass vaccinations to fight yellow fever in Africa

Nearly 12 million Africans deemed at highest risk from yellow fever will be vaccinated next week against the virus, which can cause explosive epidemics in cities, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. The vaccination drive will span three countries, Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone, starting on Monday and take about a week, the WHO said in a statement. "Yellow fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever which can cause devastating epidemics, particularly in urban centres," Rosamund Lewis, project leader in WHO's yellow fever initiative, told a news briefing. Vaccination is the best way to prevent yellow fever, which is hard to diagnose in early stages and for which there is no specific treatment, according to the United Nations agency.