Yellow fever outbreak in South Eastern State of Nigeria--virological and serological studies.

An outbreak of Yellow Fever in South Eastern State involving Uyo, Itu and Abak divisions is presented. The occurrence of few jaundiced cases with fever in places 29-35 km outside Uyo indicated that the epidemic was more widely spread than it was thought. The rural communities appeared to be more severely affected where a considerably large number of unrecorded deaths were reported. Mortality rate was about 56% among hospitalised patients. The diagnosis of Yellow Fever was confirmed by virus isolation and serology This was the first recorded outbreak in this area.