03/24/2017
Press Release No. 045, 2017
- In Brazil, 400 deaths from this disease are reported, and there are also outbreaks in Peru and Ecuador.
Bogotá, March 24, 2017. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection reiterated following the prevention measures against yellow fever set forth in Circular 014, 2017 issued jointly with the Civil Aeronautics to prevent the outbreaks currently occurring in African countries and some in Latin America such as Brazil, Peru and Ecuador to appear in the national territory.
Consequently, those travelling to areas at risk in Colombia must be vaccinated 10 days before the trip and carry the respective vaccination card.
These are risk prevention measures in response to the alert issued recently by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) against the circulation of the virus in America and Africa.
At the moment, the disease is in jungle area in Colombia, that is to say that it has not reached the urban areas, so it is important to redouble the prevention measures.
The areas of risk in the national territory where bearing the yellow card will be obligatory, by nationals and foreigners, are the municipalities of the provinces of Amazonas, Caquetá, Casanare, Chocó, Guainía, Guaviare, Meta, Putumayo, Vaupés and Vichada.
The municipalities of Santa Marta, Ciénaga and Aracataca (Magdalena), Convención, El Carmen, El Tarra, Teorama, Sardinata, Tibú, El Zulia, Hacarí and San Calixto (Norte de Santander), Riosucio, Carmen del Darién, Juradó, Nuquí and Ungía (Chocó) and Dabeiba, Mutatá, Turbo and Yondó (Antioquia).
This will also operate for entry into the wooded areas of the Orinoco, Meta, Vichada, Guaviare, Inírida, Vaupés, Putumayo, Caquetá and Amazonas rivers and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Airlines will finish the phase of technological implementation of this sanitary measure by April 1, which is conducted within the framework of the International Health Regulations (IHR).
Entry requirements
People entering the places described above must be vaccinated and must carry the respective vaccination card. The biological must be applied at least 10 days before visiting the risk areas.
The vaccine is free and available in all the country's Healthcare Providers (IPS – for its acronym in Spanish). However, a call is made to only vaccinate those planning to travel to the areas mentioned.
In case a person cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons (infants less than one year of age, pregnant women, people with a severe allergy to egg proteins, people with severe immunodeficiencies, people older than 60 years), the airline must require a medical certificate stating the reasons for the contraindication.
For more information go to www.minsalud.gov.co/saludalviajero.
Where else is there a risk?
The WHO measure covers travelers coming from countries where the virus is circulating, as follows:
In the Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
In Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Togo and Uganda.
So, if you travel to countries requiring the international yellow fever card, you must carry it, because each nation has the authority to define whether or not to allow entry of people who have been in areas at risk.
