Disease

Measles Outbreak in Osaka, Japan

A measles outbreak among dozens of employees of Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture in southern Japan has been reported, according to local media (computer translated). According to the report, a total of 31 airport employees have contracted the very contagious viral disease.

Zika Virus - Singapore

The Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) reported today the confirmation of 27 additional locally acquired Zika virus cases, bringing the city-state total to 242.

Yellow fever massive vaccination campaign - DR Congo

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) news release Friday, a major part of the largest emergency vaccination campaign against yellow fever ever attempted in Africa has been completed, with more than 7.7 million people vaccinated in record time in the city of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This has been accomplished through an extraordinary network of partnerships and collaborations.

In less than two weeks, the campaign successfully reached the targeted population of Kinshasa, most of them (7.3 million people) using an emergency vaccine – one fifth of the full dose of yellow fever vaccine. This dose sparing strategy was recommended by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) as a short-term emergency measure to reach as many people as possible given limited supplies of the vaccine.