Lagos, Nov 12 (IANS): Southern Nigeria's Enugu state has embarked on vaccination and fumigation following a recent breakout of yellow fever in some communities of the state.

The vaccination and fumigation exercises in Ette and Umuopu communities in Igbo-Eze North area of the Enugu state began on Wednesday after the confirmation of the yellow fever outbreak in the area, said Emmanuel Obi, the state's commissioner for health in a statement reaching Xinhua on Thursday.

Obi said the state had begun active case surveillance to obtain necessary information on the epidemic for further decision-making.

He confirmed that vaccination and fumigation were carried out by a medical team from the state ministry of health.

The health official said the state government had embarked on risk communication in the affected communities, and had formally notified the federal ministry of health and the Nigerian Center for Disease Control(NCDC).

Obi advised the public not to be vaccinated twice against the pandemic, noting that yellow fever was transmitted through mosquito bites and urged the public to remove its breeding sites around them.

According to reports by local media, Enugu state government on Saturday confirmed that yellow fever was responsible for the strange death of over 50 persons at Ette and Umuopu communities in the state since the beginning of September.