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Massive yellow fever vaccination campaign begins in Congo

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016 file photo, Jonathan Kangu, 3, sits on his hospital bed in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, after contracting symptoms of yellow fever. One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children warned on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 as the World Health Organization is set to launch one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa. The massive vaccination campaign begins this week in Congo and Angola, with the aim of vaccinating more than 14 million people in more than 8,000 locations to stem the disease's spread. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)
FILE - In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016 file photo, Jonathan Kangu, 3, sits on his hospital bed in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, after contracting symptoms of yellow fever. One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children warned on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 as the World Health Organization is set to launch one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa. The massive vaccination campaign begins this week in Congo and Angola, with the aim of vaccinating more than 14 million people in more than 8,000 locations to stem the disease's spread. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file) FILE - In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016 file photo, Jonathan Kangu, 3, sits on his hospital bed in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, after contracting symptoms of yellow fever. One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children warned on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 as the World Health Organization is set to launch one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa. The massive vaccination campaign begins this week in Congo and Angola, with the aim of vaccinating more than 14 million people in more than 8,000 locations to stem the disease's spread. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)

By Associated Press 1 min read

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) – Dozens of organizations have started a massive emergency vaccination campaign in Congo against the largest yellow fever outbreak in decades, trying to stop its global spread.

Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and others are joining Congo’s government and the World Health Organization in targeting about 10.5 million people over the next 10 days.

They are trying to stop the spread of yellow fever in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, and on the border with Angola, where the outbreak began.

Save The Children has warned the mosquito-spread virus could soon spread to the Americas, Asia and Europe and elsewhere in Africa.

The aid group says the outbreak has claimed nearly 500 lives.