Congo almost runs out of yellow fever vaccine amid epidemic

Some local people have complained they were deniedimmunization due to the shortage, despite queueing for a shot.

The mosquito-borne hemorrhagic virus is a major concern inKinshasa, a city of about 12 million people which has poorhealth services, a humid climate beloved of the insects and muchstagnant water where they can breed owing to poor drainage.

When you present yourself, they give you the card thatgives you access to the vaccine, but then there wasn't enoughvaccine for everyone.-MamaMavungu

The government and international health organizationsvaccinated more than 2 million people, about half of them inKinshasa, between May 26 and June 4.

But there is no more vaccine left, aside from a small numberof doses left in reserve in Kongo Central and some beingadministered by a government agency at Kinshasa's centralhospital, airport and river crossing with neighbouring CongoRepublic, health officials said.

The agency is charging $35 US for the doses it administers, ahefty sum in a country whose gross national income per person isestimated by the World Bank at $380 US a year.

Global vaccinestockpile depletions

"That requires either a cargo flight, in which case it wouldcome very quickly but cost a lot, or if it's by boat, it couldtake a few weeks," he told Reuters.

The global stockpile of yellow fever vaccine has alreadybeen depleted twice this year to immunize people in Angola,Uganda and Congo. It stands at 6 million doses, but this may notbe enough if there are simultaneous outbreaks in a number ofhighly-populated areas, experts warn.

Vaccine lineups

It earned plaudits in 2014 for quickly containing a localEbola outbreak that killed 49 people in the country. By contrastan Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,300 as it swept throughWest Africa from 2013.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, body aches andnausea, although most people recover.

"Everyone started coming, even from other districts. Nearthe end we realised that the vaccine was insufficient," saidMurphy Nzuzi, a doctor at a dimly-lit health centre in Ndjiliwith only a few small treatment rooms. He added that fights hadbroken out among people waiting in line.

"When you present yourself, they give you the card thatgives you access to the vaccine, but then there wasn't enoughvaccine for everyone," said local resident Mama Mavungu.