Yellow fever kills eight

2004-01-23 09:43

Bogota, Colombia - An outbreak of yellow fever has killed at eight people and spread fear throughout northern Colombia as lines of patients formed outside vaccination centres, authorities said.

Twenty-seven people have been diagnosed with the disease since December 28, the Social Welfare Ministry said. All the victims were infected in the jungle-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the nearby states of Magdalena, Cesar and Guajira.

The most recent victim, who died on Thursday, was a 41-year-old man from Bogota, the capital, who contracted the disease while on holiday on the country's Caribbean coast.

The ministry urged those suffering from yellow fever symptoms such as severe headaches, fever and bloody diarrhoea to contact a doctor immediately.

The government ordered the closure of five Sierra Nevada parks in an effort to keep the disease from spreading. Health authorities launched a massive vaccination campaign. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes and can have high fatality rates.

The ministry said three million doses of yellow fever vaccine would be available by the end of the week, half of which are being flown in by the Colombian Air Force from neighbouring Brazil.

The eastern state of Norte de Santander suffered a severe yellow fever outbreak between June and August last year, claiming 33 lives.

- AP