Africa's Yellow Fever Epidemic Reaches Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda's Ministry of Health (MoH) recently informed the general public and international visitors about updated yellow fever prevention measures.

On March 18, 2022, the MoH issued a statement saying anyone traveling to yellow fever endemic countries should be vaccinated at least ten days before traveling.

Previously, Kenya declared an outbreak of yellow fever in Isiolo County on March 5, 2022, after the deaths of three people.

More than 20 people in Isiolo were reported to have contracted the viral disease in Isiolo in February.

According to a press release, a yellow fever vaccination certificate is now mandatory when coming from yellow fever endemic countries and any country with an active yellow fever transmission outbreak.

Yellow fever outbreaks occurred in nine African countries in 2021.

These include Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo.

To alert international travelers, the U.S. CDC issued Travel Alerts during 2021 for Ghana and Nigeria.

There are yellow fever vaccines generally available in the U.S.

As of March 22, 2022, travel clinics and special pharmacies offer the YF-Vax vaccine.

Additional yellow fever news is posted at Vax-Before-Travel.

Note: This news article edited CDC and Rwanda content for clarity and was manually curated for mobile readers.