Sanofi Pasteur helps tackle yellow fever in Latin America

Feb 27 2008

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the Sanofi-aventis Group, has announced that six million doses of Stamaril yellow fever vaccine have been shipped upon UNICEF's request to respond to the yellow fever epidemic in Latin America.

Brazil received four million doses of Stamaril(TM) vaccine early February and an additional two million doses were shipped to Paraguay over the weekend in response to urgent requests from Health Authorities.

"Sanofi Pasteur mobilized its teams to make this public health emergency a priority," said Wayne Pisano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi Pasteur. "This ability to respond to an emergency in record time illustrates the company's commitment to global health."

The yellow fever vaccine that was provided to Brazil and Paraguay is part of the UNICEF vaccine stockpile which is reserved for outbreak responses. Sanofi Pasteur is currently the only vaccine supplier to the UNICEF yellow fever vaccine stockpile.

Sanofi Pasteur is the largest provider of yellow fever vaccine worldwide with 200 million doses of vaccine provided to 150 countries over the past 20 years.

About yellow fever

Yellow fever is a viral disease that occurs in both rural and urban areas in Africa and South America. There is no treatment for yellow fever, only prevention by immunization. More than 200,000 people contract the disease and 30,000 people die from it each year. According to the WHO, over 30 countries in Africa (with an estimated population of 508 million) are at risk. In the Americas, yellow fever is endemic in nine South American countries and in several Caribbean islands.