Malaysia on alert over yellow fever outbreak in Nigeria

Yellow fever is spread by infected mosquitos. (Fotolia)

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Malaysia is stepping up precautionary measures in the wake of an outbreak of yellow fever in northern Nigeria that has claimed 16 lives.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said health authorities will work with the Immigration Department to determine, at entry points, whether foreigners and Malaysians who have been in high-risk countries have been vaccinated against the disease.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists 29 countries in Africa and 13 in southern and central America as high-risk yellow fever areas.

Foreigners and Malaysians travelling to Malaysia from these high-risk countries can be quarantined for up to six days upon entry into the country so as to avert the risk of their infecting others, he said in a statement Tuesday (Oct 1).

He said the Health Ministry has taken note of the outbreak of yellow fever on Aug 1 in Nigeria as contained in a situation report of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control obtained by the Disease Control Division of the ministry. – Bernama