Death toll rises to 16 in northern Nigeria yellow fever outbreak

The death toll of a yellow fever outbreak in Nigeria's northern state of Bauchi has risen to 16, said local health authorities on Sunday.

The death toll increased from seven which was recorded earlier this month due to the rejection of vaccination by some locals, Rilwanu Mohammed, head of the local Primary Healthcare Development Agency in Bauchi, told Xinhua news agency.

The most recent deaths were recorded on Thursday, Mohammed said, noting they were all infected by the disease.

"We realised that all the people that rejected vaccination are the ones dying," he said.

Mohammed added, "They took them to a traditional healer who did his own work but the victims were still unconscious."

September 3, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control had declared an outbreak of yellow fever in the northern part of the West African country.

Yellow fever is mostly caused by 'Aedes Aepyti' mosquitoes found in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is transmitted from person to person through mosquitoes, although there are also forest monkeys that transmit it.

At least 119 suspected cases of yellow fever were recorded in the Nigerian state out of which 20 cases were confirmed and 16 died, Mohammed said.

The symptoms of the disease including fever and typhoid, and if left untreated will affect the blood and the victims will experience renal failure and possible coma, according to local health experts.

Local authorities have said that its officials would visit the confirmed areas to carry out door-to-door spraying of all the lava sights and fumigation of all the communities from Monday.

Official data by the World Health Organisation indicates that between January and July, over 2,000 suspected yellow fever cases were reported in 506 local government areas from all 36 states of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.