The Democratic Republic of Congo has declared a yellow fever epidemic in three provinces, including the capital, Kinshasa.
At least 67 cases have been confirmed. Another thousand people — suspected of being infected — are being monitored for signs of the disease.
Health Minister Kabange Numbi said the overwhelming majority of cases were linked to an Angolan outbreak that has killed more than 300 people since December.
Citing about 2 500 suspected cases in Angola, the World Health Organisation said last month that cases of the deadly disease had spread to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and even China.
There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and Latin America’s Amazon region.
The disease is transmitted by the same mosquitoes which spread Zika and dengue.
Samples from suspected cases have been sent for analysis to laboratories of both the Congolese Institute for Biomedical Research and the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal.
Numbi appealed for fundraising efforts to bolster a campaign already under way against a disease whose spread the government has been monitoring on a weekly basis.
“One sole vaccine dose protects for life,” he pointed out.
