Bauchi Yellow Fever disease triggers immunization of boundary community residents in Gombe

Following the outbreak of Yellow Fever disease in Bauchi state, neighbouring Gombe state says it has commenced immunisastion of vulnerable persons in the state (Gombe) against the disease.
Malam Musa Kuna, Deputy Director, Primary Health, Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, stated this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Thursday.
He said the exercise which commenced on Wednesday, targeted residents of communities sharing boundaries with Bauchi state, as well as traders who visited village markets in Bauchi to transact business.
Also speaking, the State Epidemiologist, Dr. Nuhu Ville, said six suspected cases were identified and their blood samples collected and sent to a laboratory in Abuja for screening.
He said the state Rapid Response team had been proactive even before the declaration of the outbreak in Bauchi and Kano states.
He said: “This is because Gombe shares boundary with Bauchi state and people go in and come out on daily basis.”
He named the symptoms of yellow fever as headache, body pain, yellowish eyes discoloration and vomiting, saying people who noticed these symptoms should quickly seek medical help.
NAN recalls that cases of Yellow Fever were recorded at Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi, resulting in death of some visitors to the Reserve.
Sequel to the development, both the State and Federal Ministries of Health swung into action to check the spread of the disease by immunizing residents of Alkaleri Local Government against the disease, especially those in close proximity to the Reserve.
The Yankari Games Reserve is located in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi and the area shares boundary with Gombe state.
Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed, had during an interactive session with journalists on Saturday, confirmed the outbreak of the disease at the Reserve, but assured that the problem would be tackled decisively.
The governor, himself an indigene of Alkaleri Local Government, had also requested the Fedral Government to take over the Reserve and turn it to a National Park.