Yellow fever risk assessment in the Central African Republic

Yellow fever still causes high burden in several areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. There are few well-designed epidemiological studies and limited data about yellow fever in Africa. Staples et al., in a recently published paper in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, performed a nationwide study in the Central African Republic (CAR) assessing infection risk and the operational impact of preventive measures. The rapid assessment of human, non-human and mosquito data call attention to the potential risk of future yellow fever outbreaks in the CAR and elsewhere. The study reinforces the need for intensified applied and operational research to address problems and human capacity needs in the realm of neglected tropical diseases in the post-2015 agenda.