Headed on a trip, but unsure what vaccinations you should
get before you go? All the
recommendations and requirements can be confusing at first, but checking the
listings on the Center for Disease Control and scheduling a consult with a
travel health doctor at a specialized travel clinic are good places to
start. If you are headed to a tropical
or subtropical region of South America or Africa, you may be exposed to yellow
fever, a virus spread by contact with some species of primates as well as the
bite of female mosquitos. Yellow fever can be dangerous, so if you’re traveling
to an area where the disease is prevalent, here are three good reasons to visit
a travel doctor.
1. Yellow fever is an incurable, potentially fatal disease. Symptoms
of the virus initially include fever, nausea and general body pain, which wane
after several days. Some patients then
enter a toxic phase in which liver damage occurs, and may lead to death. Jaundice,
the yellow hue many patients acquire in the advanced stages of liver failure is
the reason for “yellow” in the name “yellow fever.” Yellow fever also puts
patients at an increased risk of bleeding, and so is categorized as a hemorrhagic
fever. (Other diseases classified as hemorrhagic fevers include Lassa virus,
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic virus, Ebola, dengue, and several types of
encephalitis.) Symptoms of this
increased bleeding risk include internal bleeding, vomiting blood, and arrhythmic
heartbeats. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 30,000
deaths annually, and besides the preventative vaccine there is no known therapy
or cure.
2. Yellow fever is on the rise. Several historic epidemics
of the virus have been reported to have swept across the Americas, Africa and
Europe, particularly in the 1800s, when it was considered one of the most
deadly diseases around. However, since the 1980s the number of yellow fever
cases reported has been increasing again—likely because of land disturbances
and population shifts due to unrest in risk-prone regions—causing worldwide
health authorities to classify yellow fever as a reemerging disease.
3. The yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for entry into certain countries. Countries that currently require proof of
immunization for all travelers older than the age of one are: Angola, Benin,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the
Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, French Guiana, Gabon,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra
Leone, and Togo. Additionally, many
other countries have policies that dictate requirements based on a traveler’s
departure country, or whether the traveler has passed through a yellow fever
risk country (or in some cases even its airport) before arriving at their
destination. The Center for Disease Control’s website also hosts a
comprehensive list of countries’ requirements for proof of immunization before
entry. When you get vaccinated for
yellow fever, your travel health provider will issue you an internationally
accepted proof of immunization certificate, which is valid for ten years. In countries mandating vaccination, your
vaccination certification will be just as important as your passport when it
comes to admission through customs, so don’t forget it!
If you’re getting ready for a trip abroad and are based in
or around New York City, consider a visit to the Travel Clinic of New York for
a get yellow fever shot in NYC and
travel health and safety information from a travel health specialist. During a consultation tailored to fit your
travel itinerary, your Travel Clinic NYC doctor can give you more information
on the reasons to get vaccinated for yellow fever, administer your vaccine and
give you your certification all at a convenient time and an affordable price.
You can even make an appointment online at: Travel Clinic NYC.
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