Nairobi — The government has rolled out a 10-day yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting Garissa and Isiolo counties following an outbreak of the disease in parts of the country earlier this year.

The Ministry of Health said the exercise which began Saturday will cover Merti and Garbatula sub-counties in Isiolo and Garissa's Lagdera, Balambala, and Garissa Township sub-counties.

The vaccination campaign targets 711,300 people.

Speaking in Isiolo while launching the campaign, Health Director-General Patrick Amoth said the drive will target all people aged 9 months to 60 years.

He appealed to the residents in targeted areas to take advantage of the free vaccination campaign and get vaccinated.

"As you may be aware our country confirmed an outbreak of Yellow Fever disease in 10 Counties early this year and so far, at least 111 cases with 12 deaths have been detected. The majority of the cases have been recorded here in Isiolo County where all sub-counties have reported cases with Merti and Garbatula being most affected," Amoth said.

He challenged county governments to step up the immunizations in their areas to prevent outbreaks of diseases including having all children under five years of age receive two doses of measles rubella vaccine to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks.

Isiolo County Health County Executive Committee Member Wario Galma said the campaign seeks to curtail the spread of the disease with the county which has already reported 71 cases with seven fatalities.