On Feb. 25, an emergency mass immunization campaign was announced in response to reports of confirmed cases of yellow fever in Liberia. As of March 9, a total of 39 suspect cases, including eight deaths, were reported from eight counties.
According to the World Health Organization, the potential for an epidemic exists because Liberia has recently emerged from 14 years of civil war, during which thousands of civilians have been displaced and the health-care infrastructure has been destroyed.
Liberia lies in the yellow fever-endemic zone in West Africa, and outbreaks were previously reported in 1995 and 2002.