Vaccinate against Yellow Fever if going to these places (and to other places in other countries?)

[Lanny]

I received the below information in an email from a Colombian Travel Agency today. I do not know whether this comes from WHO, but I suspect that other countries are also involved in this Yellow Fever outbreak. If not from WHO, this originated with the Colombian government.

 

(I am sad to see Colombian cities on this list. My Stepson was in Santa Marta for his company business meeting, early in February)

 

Starting March 31, 2017, Colombians going to the following destinations will require proof of a vaccination against Yellow Fever:

 

International: Brazil, Peru and Argentina

 

Domestic: Santa Marta, Yopal, Bucaramanga, Valledupar, Leticia

 

Proof of vaccination will be required before boarding aircraft going to those destinations

 

[chiguirre]

I don't think this is new. Dh had to get a Yellow Fever vaccine in Thailand on a business trip more than 10 years ago because he was travelling on a Venezuelan passport. All those areas have the climate conditions to make YF endemic but that doesn't mean there's an outbreak.

 

Dh didn't have any reaction to the vaccine, it only took $50 and 15 minutes to satisfy the Thai Immigration rules.

[FaithManor]

Oh just gack!!! The YF vaccine is a bear of a thing to endure if you are the type to react much.

[Seasider]

Ugh. Dd said the YF vax was awful. I'll make sure my sil knows this. Thanks.

Yes, yes it is. Maybe it doesn't affect everyone like this, but my upper arm 4-5" around the injection site was tender and appeared scalded. Pretty sure I had a low grade fever, too. Concerned, I showed the doctor, who just nodded and said, "yeah that looks about right."

[Pam in CT]

We all got YF vaccinations the year we went to Zambia, and none of us had side effects beyond a bit of swelling right at the injection site for a day or so.  You are supposed to keep the WHO paperwork attached to your passport for something like 10 years thereafter.  

[Lanny]

I had a girlfriend who was in Medical School. She told me that when her course began, about 10% of the students fainted, when they gave them the vaccinations.  I remember in Basic Training, they gave us the vaccinations with a gun.  To this day, I am not sure if it had needles or if it injected the vaccine.  My guess is it had needles.

 

My belief is that the airlines and travel agencies in Colombia are trying like mad, to contact passengers leaving on March 31st and after that, to those destinations, and that a lot of people who didn't get the word will show up at Colombian airports on March 31st and be told that they cannot travel to that destination, without the Yellow Fever vaccination.  

[bibiche]

Yeah, WHO is pessimistic. Brazil is experiencing the worst outbreak in decades. My doctor is recommending the vaccine and we aren't even going that far south. :(

[FaithManor]

Yes, yes it is. Maybe it doesn't affect everyone like this, but my upper arm 4-5" around the injection site was tender and appeared scalded. Pretty sure I had a low grade fever, too. Concerned, I showed the doctor, who just nodded and said, "yeah that looks about right."

My fever hovered around 103 for a couple of days with migraine. Dh on the other hand only had a mildly sore arm.

 

Good luck to anyone getting this vax. May the force be with you!

[J-rap]

Yes, this can be all be very confusing too...  Last year, my dd travelled in Ecuador for a month.  Although the YF vaccine was recommended, it wasn't required to get into the country.  (She had actually had the vaccine a few years earlier when traveling to Africa.)  From Ecuador, she flew to Costa Rica where we were living at the time.  Little did she know that Costa Rica requires people on flights from YF-heavy countries to have proof of YF vaccine before entering their country.  So, as she was boarding the plane in Ecuador, the airlines asked for her YF certificate, which she didn't have on her.  No boarding the plane for her!  She had to spend another night in Ecuador, find a clinic the next morning, and either get re-vaccinated or convince the doctor that she had already had the vaccine so they could give her an official certificate.  (She was able to do the second.)

 

[diplomum]

I react to lots of vaccines (fainting, sore arms, fluey feeling for a few days after) and I never had an issue with YF, and neither did my kids. I'm prett sure my 10 years is almost up and I need to do it again though... Yuck. (Grateful for vaccine though!!!)

[Liz CA]

Yikes. Sorry for all of you who need it for traveling.

[DawnM]

I hate getting yellow fever immunizations.  I had to have them many times growing up and then again as an adult a few times while traveling.  And they are hard to find and expensive, all to feel miserable for a while.

 

 

[Jaybee]

We had to have them years ago. I don't believe any of us had a reaction. I don't even remember it hurting more than usual. Typhoid, however, was a different story!  :tongue_smilie: For the first one, my arm was swollen, I had bone-wracking chills, and so on.

[G5052]

None of us had trouble with the Yellow Fever vaccine. Just sore arms.

 

When our family did the typhoid pills several years ago, I had GI problems the whole time. Nothing major, but just unpleasant. Everyone else was fine!

 

All bad diseases though. IMHO prevention is worthwhile even it if is not 100%.

[maize]

I had the yellow fever vax as a teen, no negative reactions.

[vonfirmath]

Yes, this can be all be very confusing too...  Last year, my dd travelled in Ecuador for a month.  Although the YF vaccine was recommended, it wasn't required to get into the country.  (She had actually had the vaccine a few years earlier when traveling to Africa.)  From Ecuador, she flew to Costa Rica where we were living at the time.  Little did she know that Costa Rica requires people on flights from YF-heavy countries to have proof of YF vaccine before entering their country.  So, as she was boarding the plane in Ecuador, the airlines asked for her YF certificate, which she didn't have on her.  No boarding the plane for her!  She had to spend another night in Ecuador, find a clinic the next morning, and either get re-vaccinated or convince the doctor that she had already had the vaccine so they could give her an official certificate.  (She was able to do the second.)

 

Yellow Fever is recommeded for Ecuador?

I'll have to look into that. We are planning on me going to Ecuador next year.

[Innisfree]

[quote name="G5052" post=

 

All bad diseases though. IMHO prevention is worthwhile even it if is not 100%.

 

 

This.

 

However bad the temporary reaction, it beats getting yellow fever. I read Molly Caldwell Crosby's book, The American Plague, a few years ago, and ended up thoroughly unnerved by the potential for a recurrence.

[J-rap]

Yellow Fever is recommeded for Ecuador?

I'll have to look into that. We are planning on me going to Ecuador next year.

 

Probably depends on which part you'll be visiting.