Brazil to vaccinate entire population against yellow fever
Brasilia: Brazilian Health Minister Ricardo Barros has proposed to vaccinate the entire country against yellow fever, after the disease emerged in new areas.
Thirty four million people need to be vaccinated there, with 23 million in the northeast and 11 million in the south of the country.
At the start of February, vaccination efforts began in states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, seeking to immunize 19.7 million people against yellow fever, for which cases have been rising since last year, Xinhua news agency reported.
Certain northeastern and southern regions of the country have not seen campaigns so far, as there have been no outbreaks of yellow fever there.
A plant belonging to Libbs Farmaceutica in Sao Paulo is currently about to begin production of 4 million doses of vaccine a month.
From July 1, 2017 to February 20, 2018, Brazil has confirmed 545 cases of yellow fever, with 164 deaths. A further 1,773 suspected cases have been noted, with 685 having been eliminated and 422 still under investigation.
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CRPF officer killed, 3 others injured in lightning strike in Jharkhand
Ranchi (PTI): A 46-year-old CRPF officer was killed while another was seriously injured after they were struck by lightning during an anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand, officials said on Friday.
The incident took place in Keriburu village of West Singhbhum district at around 5:30 pm on Thursday. The jungle area was receiving heavy rainfall, they said.
According to officials, M Prabo Singh, a second-in-command rank officer belonging to the 26th battalion, was killed in the lightning strike, while Assistant Commandant Subir Kumr Mandal, 49, was injured and has been admitted to the Tata Main hospital in Noamundi.
Two Jharkhand Police personnel were also injured in the incident.
All the personnel were present at a CRPF security outpost when lightning struck, as per officials.
Their evacuation took time as rainfalls hampered quick rescue operation, they said.
Singh hailed from the West Imphal district of Manipur while Mandal belongs to North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
The officers were leading the joint troops of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jharkhand Police in the jungle area for an anti-Naxal operation duty, they said.
