WHO launches yellow fever initiative

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a yellow fever vaccination scheme.

It is hoped that as many as 12 million people in Africa will be inoculated against the disease thanks to this project.

Vaccinations are taking place in Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone over a ten-day period, with this already under way.

Rosamund Lewis, project leader, commented that yellow fever can have "devastating" consequences", Reuters reports.

The disease is caused by infection with the yellow fever virus and is thought to have originated in the 16th century.

WHO health workers have stated that vaccination is the best course of action to take against the disease.

The project, which has already been launched in several other African countries, is being backed by bodies such as UNICEF, Doctors without Borders and the Red Cross.

It is estimated that around 30,000 of the 206,000 people infected with yellow fever each year die from the disease.

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