Yellow fever in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire

22 September 2005

WHO has received reports of an outbreak of yellow fever in Batie, Gaoua and Banfora districts in Burkina Faso in the southeast of the country, near the border with Côte d'Ivoire. Four cases including 1 death have been laboratory confirmed by Centre Muraz, Burkina Faso and by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Yellow Fever, the Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal. The fatal case, a boy of 4 years old, came from Bouna region in Côte d'Ivoire.

A team from the Ministry of Health and WHO in Burkina Faso and a team from the Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF in Côte d'Ivoire quickly investigated the outbreak in this cross border area characterized by increased population movements. A mass vaccination campaign is being prepared in both countries to protect the population at risk and to prevent the spread of the disease to densely populated urban settings.

The WHO Regional Office for Africa is working with both Ministries to determine the most appropriate strategies for disease control in the cross border area and to raise funds for outbreak response activities.

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