The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it will withdraw more than 1 million doses of yellow fever from its emergency stocks after 10 people died in southwestern Ethiopia.
The deadly mosquito-borne disease was confirmed in Wollayeta in the Southern Nations region and the infection was reported to have started from a fever patient on August 21, which resulted in 35 suspected cases.
"This outbreak is worrying because the population of Ethiopia is very vulnerable to yellow fever due to their recent exposure to the disease and the widespread absence of vaccination," a WHO report said on Monday.
Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, yellowing, joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
Although only a small proportion of patients develop symptoms seriously, half of them die within 7 to 10 days.
All confirmed cases have been reported in the Ova and Oraida areas, and no other confirmed cases have taken place since the vaccination campaign there in mid-October, involving about 31,000 people.
But the WHO said there was a risk of a wider spread of the disease, including a conflict in the region, and that it would withdraw 1.45 million doses of its vaccine stocks for a broad campaign that should begin "without further delay."
