The Zika virus has become a global cause for concern in a little over a year. To date, the virus has infected one and a half million people in Brazil and has since spread to 30 different countries. Recently, news about Zika deaths made its way online. While the virus was previously thought to be non-fatal, the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, confirmed three deaths this week. The scientific community is knee deep in trying to find a vaccine for the virus. Studies surrounding the Zika vaccination are still coming up short. However it seems like there is yet another disease people should be looking out for.
Two months following reports of an outbreak, Angola's National director of Health has confirmed that fifty-one people have died from yellow fever. To date, a total of 240 cases of the disease has been recorded in the city of Luanda and other neighboring areas.
The Yellow Fever, which was first definitively observed in the 17th century, is a mosquito borne disease that typically causes fever, loss of appetite and muscle pain. In severe cases people infected with Yellow Fever suffer from liver damage which causes the eponymous yellow tinge. If left untreated, 50% of the patients die from the disease.
According to officials from Angola, the outbreak was caused by the local government slashing their budget for trash collection. As a result, piles of trash begun to build up in poorer areas which is prime real estate for mosquito breeding.
The Health Department of the country have since made efforts to distribute necessary vaccines to combat the spread of Yellow Fever. According to Adelaide de Carvalho, one of Angola's leading health officials, almost half a million people have been vaccinated. It would however take a little longer to distribute vaccines to the rest of the targeted 1.6 million residents.
