The Ivorian government reported on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 23 reported cases of yellow fever, including 11 deaths, in the Bounkani region in the northeast of the country. The announcement was made in Abidjan following the Council of Ministers, while health authorities are preparing to deploy the response.
More than 400,000 vaccine doses are available, according to the report presented by the government spokesperson, Amadou Coulibaly. An additional stock has been ordered, and unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to visit health centers.
Amadou Coulibaly indicated that, as of the date of this announcement, the cases were concentrated in Bounkani and that no other outbreak had been identified elsewhere in the country. The authorities have not provided a detailed schedule for the response campaign or the distribution of additional doses.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. It can cause a severe form involving liver damage, and its prevention relies primarily on vaccination, according to the World Health Organization.
The new alert comes after several signals were recorded in Africa at the beginning of 2026. In an assessment published on June 24, the WHO indicated that suspected cases were under investigation in five countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, while 16 confirmed cases had been reported in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic between January and May.
The organization then assessed the regional risk as moderate and emphasized that unvaccinated populations living in areas where the virus had circulated remained the most exposed. It also noted that vaccination coverage varied significantly across territories.
Reactive campaigns conducted until May 2026 had already vaccinated approximately 491,000 people in Côte d’Ivoire, according to the WHO. The organization reminds that a single dose provides long-lasting protection against the disease and confers immunity within one week in about 95 percent of vaccinated individuals.
