YELLOW FEVER - AFRICA (07): TANZANIA, FALSE VACCINATION CERTIFICATES
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Date: Tue 5 Feb 2013
Source: All Africa [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201302050087.html
Random authorization and issuance of yellow fever certificates has come to the attention of the government, which has launched an investigation to nab perpetrators.
The document, usually issued to travellers visiting foreign countries after being administered with vaccination against yellow fever, is reportedly being issued indiscriminately at Mnazi Mmoja and at the airport in Dar es Salaam, with bribes in return for the illegal service.
The deputy minister for health and social welfare, Dr Seif Suleiman Rashid, informed legislators in Dodoma that those seeking shortcuts risked health complications, and both legal and disciplinary measures would be taken against those issuing certificates.
The deputy minister was responding to a question by Haji Khatibu Kai, (MP for Micheweni [Civic United Front]) who demanded clarification on the purpose of yellow fever vaccination for travellers and the need for the government to hire and deploy more health officers at Horohoro Border Post in Tanga Region, where some of the travellers cross the border without being examined. There are only 2 officers in the area.
"[Inappropriate] issuance of yellow fever certificates is uncalled-for and cannot be tolerated. The society should refuse to run unnecessary risks because travelling out of the country without vaccination is dangerous to the traveller, who could contract the disease and spread it to others back home," Dr Rashid explained.
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[Issuance of fake yellow fever vaccination cards, or of cards to individuals who have not been vaccinated, is a cause for serious concern. The Tanzania health authorities are justified in cracking down on this practice, as did Nigerian health officials in 2012 when sale of fake cards came to light. There are 2 serious risks associated with this practice. First, individuals going into yellow fever (YF) endemic areas are not protected against this serious disease with its 30 per cent case fatality rate. Second, and perhaps more serious, is the risk of YF virus infected individuals going to places where the mosquito vector is present and starting new outbreaks in areas where the population has no immunity from immunization.
Although ProMED-mail has not reported YF cases in Tanzania, YF outbreaks have occurred in neighboring Kenya, where the virus occurs in the forest (sylvan) cycle of transmission (see ProMED-mail archive number 20110504.1377 for a summary and related references).
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Tanzania can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1KlV. - Mod.TY]
Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber
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YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AVAILABILITY - INDIA
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Sun 24 Mar 2013
Source: Deccan Herald [summ. & edited]
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/321 ... i-has.html
Are you [in India] planning an African safari this summer? A getaway to the Serengeti in Tanzania to film the wildebeest and stalk the Big Five? Be warned. Your plans could go very wrong. All because of a seemingly small yet significant detail called the yellow fever [YF] vaccine, or rather, the lack of it in the State's Public Health Institute [PHI].
The Public Health Institute, Bangalore, the only designated centre in the state authorised to administer the vaccine, has been pleading "No Stock" for 2 months now. Worse, the "No Stock" syndrome seems to apply only to the PHI, where a dose of the vaccine costs Rs 200 [USD 3.68]. In the open market, pharmacists not only have adequate stock of the vaccine, they also sell a single dose at Rs 1534 [USD 28.23].
Desperate travellers have little choice but to fork out a small fortune for the vaccine, which they then carry to the PHI, which administers it.
Why isn't PHI being proactive in procuring the much-in-demand vaccine? "Yes, the number of people asking for the yellow fever vaccine is high during the holiday season. We give nearly 100 vaccinations every Wednesday, but for 2 months, we have had no stock. The vaccine comes to us from Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh," says Dr Jaikumar, deputy director and in-charge joint director, PHI Bangalore. Has the PHI been following up the shortage issue with the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli? "Of course, but I cannot pressure them," he adds.
Paucity in the PHI is contrasted by plentiful stocks in some pharmacies in the City. Nearly 30-40 vaccines are sold a month during the holiday season in these pharmacies. They too say the vaccine is in short supply, but manage to get it on demand. A well-known pharmacy on Residency Road was able to procure 3 doses of the vaccine Stanmaril, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur SA, based in Lyon, France, and imported and marketed in India by Sanofi Pasteur India Pvt Ltd, Navi Mumbai, in less than 12 hours of placing a request, at Rs 1534 [USD 28.23] a dose.
Those who have air tickets booked and safari schedules blocked prefer buying the vaccine for a hefty price at a pharmacy rather than bite their nails in frustration after making daily calls to the PHI to check on the availability of the vaccine.
The vaccination, valid for 10 years once taken, has a 20-day incubation period [11 day period for the vaccination to become effective], which makes it necessary for 1st-time travellers to plan their vaccination schedule.
Failure to take the vaccination may get one past immigration but would certainly mean quarantine for 10 days, on return, in a government hospital.
The best bet, if the PHI is out of stock, is [for travel agencies] to refer clients to the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Guindy, Chennai, or the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Hyderabad.
"Not just the PHI, all designated government health centres across the country have no stock," says Dr Jaikumar.
While the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Hyderabad did say on the phone that they were out of stock, a phone call to King Institute in Chennai was answered with: "Yes, we have some vaccines. We cannot tell you how many. You need to come here and find out."
Going by the growing requests to pharmacies and PHI's "wait and see" approach, holiday-goers have little choice but to swallow the cynicism and stretch the wallet so that they can board their flight in peace.
[Byline: Kavitha K.]
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[The situation in India appears to be very confused, with some governmental health institutions having no vaccine in stock, but others do. If pharmacies are able to get vaccine, it is not clear why government health facilities are unable to. - Mod.TY]
[It is particularly important that travelers from Asia are vaccinated before visiting YF endemic areas of Africa and South America to avoid bringing yellow fever home with them. Indian and many other Asian cities already suffer from dengue epidemics because they are full of the same mosquito, _Aedes aegypti_, that spreads yellow fever. - Mod.JW
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH.]
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*****************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 24 Mar 2013
Source: Deccan Herald [summ. & edited]
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/321 ... i-has.html
Are you [in India] planning an African safari this summer? A getaway to the Serengeti in Tanzania to film the wildebeest and stalk the Big Five? Be warned. Your plans could go very wrong. All because of a seemingly small yet significant detail called the yellow fever [YF] vaccine, or rather, the lack of it in the State's Public Health Institute [PHI].
The Public Health Institute, Bangalore, the only designated centre in the state authorised to administer the vaccine, has been pleading "No Stock" for 2 months now. Worse, the "No Stock" syndrome seems to apply only to the PHI, where a dose of the vaccine costs Rs 200 [USD 3.68]. In the open market, pharmacists not only have adequate stock of the vaccine, they also sell a single dose at Rs 1534 [USD 28.23].
Desperate travellers have little choice but to fork out a small fortune for the vaccine, which they then carry to the PHI, which administers it.
Why isn't PHI being proactive in procuring the much-in-demand vaccine? "Yes, the number of people asking for the yellow fever vaccine is high during the holiday season. We give nearly 100 vaccinations every Wednesday, but for 2 months, we have had no stock. The vaccine comes to us from Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh," says Dr Jaikumar, deputy director and in-charge joint director, PHI Bangalore. Has the PHI been following up the shortage issue with the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli? "Of course, but I cannot pressure them," he adds.
Paucity in the PHI is contrasted by plentiful stocks in some pharmacies in the City. Nearly 30-40 vaccines are sold a month during the holiday season in these pharmacies. They too say the vaccine is in short supply, but manage to get it on demand. A well-known pharmacy on Residency Road was able to procure 3 doses of the vaccine Stanmaril, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur SA, based in Lyon, France, and imported and marketed in India by Sanofi Pasteur India Pvt Ltd, Navi Mumbai, in less than 12 hours of placing a request, at Rs 1534 [USD 28.23] a dose.
Those who have air tickets booked and safari schedules blocked prefer buying the vaccine for a hefty price at a pharmacy rather than bite their nails in frustration after making daily calls to the PHI to check on the availability of the vaccine.
The vaccination, valid for 10 years once taken, has a 20-day incubation period [11 day period for the vaccination to become effective], which makes it necessary for 1st-time travellers to plan their vaccination schedule.
Failure to take the vaccination may get one past immigration but would certainly mean quarantine for 10 days, on return, in a government hospital.
The best bet, if the PHI is out of stock, is [for travel agencies] to refer clients to the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Guindy, Chennai, or the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Hyderabad.
"Not just the PHI, all designated government health centres across the country have no stock," says Dr Jaikumar.
While the Institute of Preventive Medicine, Hyderabad did say on the phone that they were out of stock, a phone call to King Institute in Chennai was answered with: "Yes, we have some vaccines. We cannot tell you how many. You need to come here and find out."
Going by the growing requests to pharmacies and PHI's "wait and see" approach, holiday-goers have little choice but to swallow the cynicism and stretch the wallet so that they can board their flight in peace.
[Byline: Kavitha K.]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[The situation in India appears to be very confused, with some governmental health institutions having no vaccine in stock, but others do. If pharmacies are able to get vaccine, it is not clear why government health facilities are unable to. - Mod.TY]
[It is particularly important that travelers from Asia are vaccinated before visiting YF endemic areas of Africa and South America to avoid bringing yellow fever home with them. Indian and many other Asian cities already suffer from dengue epidemics because they are full of the same mosquito, _Aedes aegypti_, that spreads yellow fever. - Mod.JW
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH.]
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Gelbfieber
Ein bisschen off-topic ...
Beim Lesen diverser Reiseberichte ist mir immer wieder aufgefallen, dass Reisende von Polizisten oder an Grenzübergängen genötigt wurden, einen Obolus zu zahlen, wenn die Gelbfieberimpfung älter als ein Jahr , in manchen Fällen sogar nur mehr als ein halbes Jahr alt ist. Das es sich dabei um die übliche Vorgehensweise handelt, ein Taschengeld zu erhalten, ist durchaus klar.
Die Gelbfieberimpfungen immunisieren nach Angaben der WHO mehr als 10 Jahre.
Kennt Ihr offizielle Regelungen aus afrikanischen Ländern, die diesen Angaben widersprechen und kürzer zurückliegende Impfungen für Ausländer verlangen ?
Grüße
henrik
Beim Lesen diverser Reiseberichte ist mir immer wieder aufgefallen, dass Reisende von Polizisten oder an Grenzübergängen genötigt wurden, einen Obolus zu zahlen, wenn die Gelbfieberimpfung älter als ein Jahr , in manchen Fällen sogar nur mehr als ein halbes Jahr alt ist. Das es sich dabei um die übliche Vorgehensweise handelt, ein Taschengeld zu erhalten, ist durchaus klar.
Die Gelbfieberimpfungen immunisieren nach Angaben der WHO mehr als 10 Jahre.
Kennt Ihr offizielle Regelungen aus afrikanischen Ländern, die diesen Angaben widersprechen und kürzer zurückliegende Impfungen für Ausländer verlangen ?
Grüße
henrik
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YELLOW FEVER RISK - INDIA
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Date: Sat 4 May 2013
Source: Times of India, Times News Network (TNN) [edited]
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... isa-papers
This is certainly not a shot in the arm for those travelling to African countries. Non-availability of yellow fever vaccine is turning out to be a major hindrance to them with the vaccine going out of stock in the state.
For travelling to an African country, it is mandatory to submit a yellow certificate along with visa papers at the immigration and emigration counters.
The yellow certificate is issued to tourists by authorised port health organisations and select private hospitals after the person has been vaccinated at least 2 weeks before the travel.
"I was to travel on 6-17 May [2013] to the African region. My work requires me to travel to Dhaka and then go back to Ethiopia. So taking that vaccine is a must. But due to its non-availability, I am not able to travel," said a business consultant for the World Bank.
He said this had affected the travel plans and jobs of several people who have to visit these countries. With Gulf countries almost reaching its peak for skilled workers, Africa is the new destination for them.
The vaccine is normally available at the port health organisation office in Kochi for Rs 300 [USD 5.57]. But when one calls the office these days, the standard reply is 'out of stock'.
When one asks where it could be available, the reply is, "If it is urgent, you may buy [Stamaril -- yellow fever vaccine] from a medical shop for Rs 1500 [USD 28]. Please buy the kit and bring it here. You can take the vaccine and will be issued certificate from here."
[The business consultant] said the non-availability of vaccine had also affected those hoping to join the Merchant Navy.
"We have been getting a lot of calls for this vaccine. But there is a shortage for the last one month. It is not available even with the stockists," said an official at Kunhalu's nursing home, an authorized hospital for issuing the certificate.
Travel agents said the certificate could be given even without administering the vaccine as countries claim to have eradicated yellow fever but the chances of tourists getting an infection are always there.
[Byline: Sudha Nambudiri]
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[One hopes that Indian health authorities are fully aware of the public health risk that issuance of yellow fever vaccination cards to travelers without application of the vaccine brings to the country. Should unvaccinated individuals become infected in Africa and travel back to India while viremic they could initiate ongoing transmission in a country that has been free of YF historically. India has dengue virus transmission ongoing every year. The same mosquitoes are involved in transmission of dengue and of yellow fever viruses. Although the risk of introduction of YF virus into India is probably slight, the consequences, should that happen, would be very serious. - Mod.TY
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH.]
.................................................ty/mj/lm
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A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sat 4 May 2013
Source: Times of India, Times News Network (TNN) [edited]
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... isa-papers
This is certainly not a shot in the arm for those travelling to African countries. Non-availability of yellow fever vaccine is turning out to be a major hindrance to them with the vaccine going out of stock in the state.
For travelling to an African country, it is mandatory to submit a yellow certificate along with visa papers at the immigration and emigration counters.
The yellow certificate is issued to tourists by authorised port health organisations and select private hospitals after the person has been vaccinated at least 2 weeks before the travel.
"I was to travel on 6-17 May [2013] to the African region. My work requires me to travel to Dhaka and then go back to Ethiopia. So taking that vaccine is a must. But due to its non-availability, I am not able to travel," said a business consultant for the World Bank.
He said this had affected the travel plans and jobs of several people who have to visit these countries. With Gulf countries almost reaching its peak for skilled workers, Africa is the new destination for them.
The vaccine is normally available at the port health organisation office in Kochi for Rs 300 [USD 5.57]. But when one calls the office these days, the standard reply is 'out of stock'.
When one asks where it could be available, the reply is, "If it is urgent, you may buy [Stamaril -- yellow fever vaccine] from a medical shop for Rs 1500 [USD 28]. Please buy the kit and bring it here. You can take the vaccine and will be issued certificate from here."
[The business consultant] said the non-availability of vaccine had also affected those hoping to join the Merchant Navy.
"We have been getting a lot of calls for this vaccine. But there is a shortage for the last one month. It is not available even with the stockists," said an official at Kunhalu's nursing home, an authorized hospital for issuing the certificate.
Travel agents said the certificate could be given even without administering the vaccine as countries claim to have eradicated yellow fever but the chances of tourists getting an infection are always there.
[Byline: Sudha Nambudiri]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
[One hopes that Indian health authorities are fully aware of the public health risk that issuance of yellow fever vaccination cards to travelers without application of the vaccine brings to the country. Should unvaccinated individuals become infected in Africa and travel back to India while viremic they could initiate ongoing transmission in a country that has been free of YF historically. India has dengue virus transmission ongoing every year. The same mosquitoes are involved in transmission of dengue and of yellow fever viruses. Although the risk of introduction of YF virus into India is probably slight, the consequences, should that happen, would be very serious. - Mod.TY
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH.]
.................................................ty/mj/lm
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YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AVAILABILITY - INDIA (02)
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Sun 14 Jul 2013
Source: Business Standard [edited]
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 414_1.html
The Indian government has urgently procured yellow fever vaccine from multinational companies after a severe shortage resulting in people being unable to travel to African and some South American countries. Visas to Africa and tropical and sub-tropical South American countries can be obtained only after the applicant submits a certificate given by one of the country's 15 authorised vaccination centres.
"There was a shortage, but the government has imported the vaccine from multinational companies like Sanofi Pasteur, and the stock has arrived on 11 Jul [2013]," Director General of Health Services Jagdish Prasad admitted to IANS.
Earlier, the vaccine was manufactured at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli. But this stopped after the 2 machines it used for the purpose broke down. The total requirement for the vaccine is around 10.5 million vials. While CRI, Kasauli used to manufacture around 4 million vials, the balance was met through imports, a senior health ministry official said, adding the institute was never prepared to handle the huge demand.
Utpal Kumar Chattopadhyay, a senior official at the Institute of Health and Public Hygiene Kolkata, one of the centres where the vaccine is administered, told IANS that the last shot was given on 21 Jun [2013]. Neelam Gupta of the Travel Safe Clinic, which is another such centre in Noida, near the capital said: "There has been a shortage for nearly one month now." She said a shot of the vaccine at her clinic cost Rs 2800 [USD 47] (against Rs 400 [USD 7] at a government-run facility). "But we will also administer the shot if somebody procures the vaccine from outside."
Yashpal Jain, a businessman who is scheduled to travel to Zambia and has been running from pillar to post to get the vaccine said: "There are 4 centres in Delhi, and all of them have run out of the vaccine. I will wait for another 10 days and then try again."
Another group of people who have been hit are vacationers. Lalit Sharma, who had planned a summer holiday in South America, said: "There has been a severe shortage across the country. I have not been able to get the vaccine shot and hence have postponed the trip."
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. It is transmitted by the bite of the _Aedes aegypti_ female mosquito, and [the virus] is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South America and in all of Africa, but not in Asia.
Apart from being important for personal protection, yellow fever vaccination and its proof is a condition of entry in many countries, especially for travelers who have recently arrived from a country in a yellow fever zone. Failure to take the vaccination may get one past immigration, but would certainly mean quarantine for 10 days on return in a government hospital, experts said.
[Byline: Sreeparna Chakrabarty]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The unavailability of yellow fever (YF) vaccine has been a serious problem in India for several months, with significant inconvenience for business travelers and tourists. Some previous articles in the Indian popular press allege that yellow fever vaccination cards are being issued without administration of the vaccine. One certainly hopes that these reports are not true, as the arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India, since the vector mosquito is present in most of the country. One cannot help but wonder whether the cost of repairing the machines at the Central Research Institute, Kasauli would be cheaper for the government than continued importation of YF vaccine from outside sources.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 14 Jul 2013
Source: Business Standard [edited]
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 414_1.html
The Indian government has urgently procured yellow fever vaccine from multinational companies after a severe shortage resulting in people being unable to travel to African and some South American countries. Visas to Africa and tropical and sub-tropical South American countries can be obtained only after the applicant submits a certificate given by one of the country's 15 authorised vaccination centres.
"There was a shortage, but the government has imported the vaccine from multinational companies like Sanofi Pasteur, and the stock has arrived on 11 Jul [2013]," Director General of Health Services Jagdish Prasad admitted to IANS.
Earlier, the vaccine was manufactured at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli. But this stopped after the 2 machines it used for the purpose broke down. The total requirement for the vaccine is around 10.5 million vials. While CRI, Kasauli used to manufacture around 4 million vials, the balance was met through imports, a senior health ministry official said, adding the institute was never prepared to handle the huge demand.
Utpal Kumar Chattopadhyay, a senior official at the Institute of Health and Public Hygiene Kolkata, one of the centres where the vaccine is administered, told IANS that the last shot was given on 21 Jun [2013]. Neelam Gupta of the Travel Safe Clinic, which is another such centre in Noida, near the capital said: "There has been a shortage for nearly one month now." She said a shot of the vaccine at her clinic cost Rs 2800 [USD 47] (against Rs 400 [USD 7] at a government-run facility). "But we will also administer the shot if somebody procures the vaccine from outside."
Yashpal Jain, a businessman who is scheduled to travel to Zambia and has been running from pillar to post to get the vaccine said: "There are 4 centres in Delhi, and all of them have run out of the vaccine. I will wait for another 10 days and then try again."
Another group of people who have been hit are vacationers. Lalit Sharma, who had planned a summer holiday in South America, said: "There has been a severe shortage across the country. I have not been able to get the vaccine shot and hence have postponed the trip."
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. It is transmitted by the bite of the _Aedes aegypti_ female mosquito, and [the virus] is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South America and in all of Africa, but not in Asia.
Apart from being important for personal protection, yellow fever vaccination and its proof is a condition of entry in many countries, especially for travelers who have recently arrived from a country in a yellow fever zone. Failure to take the vaccination may get one past immigration, but would certainly mean quarantine for 10 days on return in a government hospital, experts said.
[Byline: Sreeparna Chakrabarty]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The unavailability of yellow fever (YF) vaccine has been a serious problem in India for several months, with significant inconvenience for business travelers and tourists. Some previous articles in the Indian popular press allege that yellow fever vaccination cards are being issued without administration of the vaccine. One certainly hopes that these reports are not true, as the arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India, since the vector mosquito is present in most of the country. One cannot help but wonder whether the cost of repairing the machines at the Central Research Institute, Kasauli would be cheaper for the government than continued importation of YF vaccine from outside sources.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
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YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AVAILABILITY - INDIA (03)
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Fri 19 Jul 2013
Source: The Times of India [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 152999.cms
The acute shortage of the yellow fever [YF] vaccine combined with a propensity for corruption could be posing a serious public health risk. Yellow fever vaccines are said to be out-of-stock in the entire country. Yet thousands of Indians continue to travel to countries which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed as being at risk of transmitting the disease and from where the disease could be imported. Touts are willing to ensure, for a consideration, that they get the vaccine booklet certifying that they have been vaccinated.
According to travel agents in Delhi and Mumbai, for a price, you can get certified that you have been vaccinated against yellow fever even if you can't get the vaccine. "When no vaccine is available no matter what price you are willing to pay and your tickets are booked, rather than lose money, people get fake certificates. This is India. If there is a demand, there will be supply," said a Delhi travel agency, which said that it received at least 5 applications every day for travel to Brazil, an endemic country.
There have been reports of fake certificates costing around Rs 5000-10 000 [USD 84-167]. That seems cheap at a time when reports also indicate that the few doses of the vaccine hoarded by chemists are being sold for as much as Rs 20 000 [USD 335] or more.
Quite apart from the moral dimension, the problem with this scenario is that these travellers could unwittingly end up being carriers for a killer disease that is not endemic to India or the rest of Asia. In fact, public health experts spoke to fear that India, by its inefficiency in managing yellow fever vaccine stocks, could be putting Asia, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the world's population, at risk of yellow fever importation.
Yellow fever vaccine shortages were reported from March this year [2013], and the union health ministry has yet to remedy the problem caused by stock mismanagement. The office of Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (International Health), Ministry of Health, when contacted, claimed that orders have been placed and that the vaccines would be available from next month [August 2013]. Such claims have been made by the health ministry since May [2013], but the shortage has only got worse.
So, how serious is the risk? "The mathematical probability of bringing yellow fever into India is dependent on where people travel, for how long they stay there, and on the vaccine coverage of the people who live there in an endemic area. You cannot hope that the _Aedes_ mosquito, which is abundant in our country, will be a poor vector for yellow fever. Once the virus establishes itself in India, you will have enormous consequences to our economy/public health system," said Dr Jacob John of the Community Medicine department of CMC Vellore.
In March 2011, WHO organised a consultation on the yellow fever threat to India and SE Asia in which it was concluded that the threat of introduction of YF [virus] into Asia was very real in the age of faster air travel.
At the consultation, it was revealed that 2 cases of unvaccinated tourists being infected with yellow fever were reported in the US in 1999 and 2002, and both had died. Northern Europe had 3 imported cases between 1991 and 2002, of which 2 died. The infection did not spread as the cases happened in non-mosquito season in the US, and in Europe the vector _Aedes_ mosquito does not occur in Northern Europe.
However the _Aedes_ mosquito, the vector for dengue and yellow fever [viruses], is widely prevalent in Asia, as Indians are only too well aware. In the consultation, it was warned that stocks of YF vaccine were insufficient if a major epidemic were to occur in Asia.
Despite such warnings, the union health ministry in India remained apathetic to the shortage, which was imminent since the shut-down of the unit in Russia from where government imported vaccines. The requirement for the YF vaccine was about 10.5 million vials, of which the Central Research Institute, Kasauli supplied about 1/3rd. The Kasauli unit was shut down in 2008.
While the government used to supply the vaccine at a few hundred rupees from its 15 vaccination centres across the country, the vaccine available in the market costs over Rs 1500 [USD 25]. Today, the same vaccine is being sold for as much as Rs 20 000 [USD 335] in the black market.
Yellow fever vaccination is required for travel to 44 endemic countries in Africa and South America. "It is not for those countries to ensure that travellers are vaccinated. It is for India to ensure, since the risk is to the Indian population. Immigration officers are supposed to check your vaccination status, and if a person who visited an endemic country is not vaccinated, the person has to be quarantined. None of this seems to be happening. If sizeable numbers are travelling without vaccination, you are increasing the risk of importation," said Dr Rajeeb Dasgupta of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health in JNU.
[Byline: Rema Nagarajan]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[This report is of serious concern due to the unavailability of YF vaccine and because yellow fever vaccination cards are being issued without administration of the vaccine. The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that Indian health authorities will take this situation seriously, hasten importation of the vaccine, and bring a halt to the issuance of fake YF vaccination cards.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 19 Jul 2013
Source: The Times of India [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 152999.cms
The acute shortage of the yellow fever [YF] vaccine combined with a propensity for corruption could be posing a serious public health risk. Yellow fever vaccines are said to be out-of-stock in the entire country. Yet thousands of Indians continue to travel to countries which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed as being at risk of transmitting the disease and from where the disease could be imported. Touts are willing to ensure, for a consideration, that they get the vaccine booklet certifying that they have been vaccinated.
According to travel agents in Delhi and Mumbai, for a price, you can get certified that you have been vaccinated against yellow fever even if you can't get the vaccine. "When no vaccine is available no matter what price you are willing to pay and your tickets are booked, rather than lose money, people get fake certificates. This is India. If there is a demand, there will be supply," said a Delhi travel agency, which said that it received at least 5 applications every day for travel to Brazil, an endemic country.
There have been reports of fake certificates costing around Rs 5000-10 000 [USD 84-167]. That seems cheap at a time when reports also indicate that the few doses of the vaccine hoarded by chemists are being sold for as much as Rs 20 000 [USD 335] or more.
Quite apart from the moral dimension, the problem with this scenario is that these travellers could unwittingly end up being carriers for a killer disease that is not endemic to India or the rest of Asia. In fact, public health experts spoke to fear that India, by its inefficiency in managing yellow fever vaccine stocks, could be putting Asia, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the world's population, at risk of yellow fever importation.
Yellow fever vaccine shortages were reported from March this year [2013], and the union health ministry has yet to remedy the problem caused by stock mismanagement. The office of Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (International Health), Ministry of Health, when contacted, claimed that orders have been placed and that the vaccines would be available from next month [August 2013]. Such claims have been made by the health ministry since May [2013], but the shortage has only got worse.
So, how serious is the risk? "The mathematical probability of bringing yellow fever into India is dependent on where people travel, for how long they stay there, and on the vaccine coverage of the people who live there in an endemic area. You cannot hope that the _Aedes_ mosquito, which is abundant in our country, will be a poor vector for yellow fever. Once the virus establishes itself in India, you will have enormous consequences to our economy/public health system," said Dr Jacob John of the Community Medicine department of CMC Vellore.
In March 2011, WHO organised a consultation on the yellow fever threat to India and SE Asia in which it was concluded that the threat of introduction of YF [virus] into Asia was very real in the age of faster air travel.
At the consultation, it was revealed that 2 cases of unvaccinated tourists being infected with yellow fever were reported in the US in 1999 and 2002, and both had died. Northern Europe had 3 imported cases between 1991 and 2002, of which 2 died. The infection did not spread as the cases happened in non-mosquito season in the US, and in Europe the vector _Aedes_ mosquito does not occur in Northern Europe.
However the _Aedes_ mosquito, the vector for dengue and yellow fever [viruses], is widely prevalent in Asia, as Indians are only too well aware. In the consultation, it was warned that stocks of YF vaccine were insufficient if a major epidemic were to occur in Asia.
Despite such warnings, the union health ministry in India remained apathetic to the shortage, which was imminent since the shut-down of the unit in Russia from where government imported vaccines. The requirement for the YF vaccine was about 10.5 million vials, of which the Central Research Institute, Kasauli supplied about 1/3rd. The Kasauli unit was shut down in 2008.
While the government used to supply the vaccine at a few hundred rupees from its 15 vaccination centres across the country, the vaccine available in the market costs over Rs 1500 [USD 25]. Today, the same vaccine is being sold for as much as Rs 20 000 [USD 335] in the black market.
Yellow fever vaccination is required for travel to 44 endemic countries in Africa and South America. "It is not for those countries to ensure that travellers are vaccinated. It is for India to ensure, since the risk is to the Indian population. Immigration officers are supposed to check your vaccination status, and if a person who visited an endemic country is not vaccinated, the person has to be quarantined. None of this seems to be happening. If sizeable numbers are travelling without vaccination, you are increasing the risk of importation," said Dr Rajeeb Dasgupta of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health in JNU.
[Byline: Rema Nagarajan]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[This report is of serious concern due to the unavailability of YF vaccine and because yellow fever vaccination cards are being issued without administration of the vaccine. The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that Indian health authorities will take this situation seriously, hasten importation of the vaccine, and bring a halt to the issuance of fake YF vaccination cards.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
-
Birgitt
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- Beiträge: 35219
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Gelbfieber - Verfügbarkeit Impfstoff in Indien
YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AVAILABILITY - INDIA (04)
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 19 Jul 2013
Source: The Economic Times [edited]
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 170909.cms
In a major relief for those travelling to African [and most South American] nations, government today [19 Jul 2013] received a consignment of 60 000 yellow fever vaccine doses through WHO which will be distributed across the country.
There has been an acute shortage of the vaccine in the country, and users are finding it difficult to get the vaccine ever since the Kasauli-based Central Research Institute stopped its manufacture [in 2008].
The yellow fever vaccine is compulsory for all those travelling to African nations, after the World Health Organisation held a consultation on yellow fever saying the threat of introduction of yellow fever [virus] into Asia was very real in the age of faster air travel.
"There was a shortage of yellow fever vaccine, as WHO was not supplying it, leading to problems for users. We have procured 60 000 vaccines, and the same are being distributed to 27 vaccination centres across the country for use," Director General of Health Service Jagdish Prasad told PTI.
The Health Ministry has already placed an order of 275 000 doses of the vaccine from the WHO, which are likely to be received soon and would be sufficient for 2 years.
The yellow fever vaccine is available at 27 government vaccination centres free of cost and is also available on the open market. However, due to shortage of the vaccine, it is being sold on the black market by private retailers, leading to problems for those travelling to African nations.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The arrival of the yellow fever (YF) vaccine will not only be a relief for travelers in India going to YF virus endemic countries in Africa and South America, it will also be a relief to public health authorities in India and Southeast Asia generally. The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that the arrival of the vaccine and its free administration will end the illegal sale of fake YF vaccination cards as well. As soon as all travelers in India bound for YF countries receive the vaccine, the risk of introduction of YF virus will be eliminated.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 19 Jul 2013
Source: The Economic Times [edited]
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 170909.cms
In a major relief for those travelling to African [and most South American] nations, government today [19 Jul 2013] received a consignment of 60 000 yellow fever vaccine doses through WHO which will be distributed across the country.
There has been an acute shortage of the vaccine in the country, and users are finding it difficult to get the vaccine ever since the Kasauli-based Central Research Institute stopped its manufacture [in 2008].
The yellow fever vaccine is compulsory for all those travelling to African nations, after the World Health Organisation held a consultation on yellow fever saying the threat of introduction of yellow fever [virus] into Asia was very real in the age of faster air travel.
"There was a shortage of yellow fever vaccine, as WHO was not supplying it, leading to problems for users. We have procured 60 000 vaccines, and the same are being distributed to 27 vaccination centres across the country for use," Director General of Health Service Jagdish Prasad told PTI.
The Health Ministry has already placed an order of 275 000 doses of the vaccine from the WHO, which are likely to be received soon and would be sufficient for 2 years.
The yellow fever vaccine is available at 27 government vaccination centres free of cost and is also available on the open market. However, due to shortage of the vaccine, it is being sold on the black market by private retailers, leading to problems for those travelling to African nations.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The arrival of the yellow fever (YF) vaccine will not only be a relief for travelers in India going to YF virus endemic countries in Africa and South America, it will also be a relief to public health authorities in India and Southeast Asia generally. The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that the arrival of the vaccine and its free administration will end the illegal sale of fake YF vaccination cards as well. As soon as all travelers in India bound for YF countries receive the vaccine, the risk of introduction of YF virus will be eliminated.
Maps of India can be seen at
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/r/1pSH. - Mod.TY]
-
Birgitt
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Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber - Nigeria
YELLOW FEVER - AFRICA (22): NIGERIA, FAKE CARDS
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 27 Aug 2013
Source: World Stage [edited]
http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldsta ... 0&catid=10
Nigeria's Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has urged travellers who were still using the old yellow [yellow fever (YF) vaccination] card to replace it with the new encoded one. Chukwu, while addressing newsmen in Abuja, said that foreign countries had been informed not to recognise the old card by 1 Oct 2013.
He said: "We are giving new cards now; please don't accept any old card as a fresh person if you get immunised today. If you are vaccinated against yellow fever, demand the yellow card, the new one. Now, the question will be what about those people who are vaccinated for whom their immunisation is still current? If you even bring it to the Ministry of Health today, go to the Department of Public Health, and it will be replaced. If their marking tells us you bought it, if you bought it, we will vaccinate you; the process is N 1000 [USD 6.18] only. Nobody should cause you to pay more; we will vaccinate you here in the ministry, and we will give you the correct yellow card. If the old one you bring shows clearly you actually were vaccinated properly, we will just give you the new one and put all the documentation aright. So, 1 Oct 2013 is the date we have set so far; after that date, the old one will not be recognised."
Chukwu said that earlier, states and the private sector were printing the card, "but now it is only the Federal Ministry of Health that is printing the card." He added that in terms of distribution, the ministry issued to only the National Primary Health Care Development Agency because it had the vaccines. "The other sector that also gets the card from the ministry is the Port Health Authority, which also does the vaccination, and they belong to the Federal Ministry of Health," Chukwu said.
The minister said children who were immunised routinely would not need the card except if they were travelling out of the country. According to him, those who need the yellow card are people who intend to travel outside the country.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine presents a serious public health problem. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria. Unless the situation has changed recently, Nigeria is at risk for yellow fever outbreaks because it is the only country among 13 in West Africa yet to conduct mass vaccination, as was indicated in a ProMED-mail post of 24 Oct 2012 (archive no. 20121026.1366454). One hopes that the Ministry of Health's initiative to issue new cards, accompanied by vaccination, or replacement cards for old, legitimate ones will rectify the earlier problem of fake cards.
A map of Nigeria showing the locations of the states can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY]
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Tue 27 Aug 2013
Source: World Stage [edited]
http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldsta ... 0&catid=10
Nigeria's Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has urged travellers who were still using the old yellow [yellow fever (YF) vaccination] card to replace it with the new encoded one. Chukwu, while addressing newsmen in Abuja, said that foreign countries had been informed not to recognise the old card by 1 Oct 2013.
He said: "We are giving new cards now; please don't accept any old card as a fresh person if you get immunised today. If you are vaccinated against yellow fever, demand the yellow card, the new one. Now, the question will be what about those people who are vaccinated for whom their immunisation is still current? If you even bring it to the Ministry of Health today, go to the Department of Public Health, and it will be replaced. If their marking tells us you bought it, if you bought it, we will vaccinate you; the process is N 1000 [USD 6.18] only. Nobody should cause you to pay more; we will vaccinate you here in the ministry, and we will give you the correct yellow card. If the old one you bring shows clearly you actually were vaccinated properly, we will just give you the new one and put all the documentation aright. So, 1 Oct 2013 is the date we have set so far; after that date, the old one will not be recognised."
Chukwu said that earlier, states and the private sector were printing the card, "but now it is only the Federal Ministry of Health that is printing the card." He added that in terms of distribution, the ministry issued to only the National Primary Health Care Development Agency because it had the vaccines. "The other sector that also gets the card from the ministry is the Port Health Authority, which also does the vaccination, and they belong to the Federal Ministry of Health," Chukwu said.
The minister said children who were immunised routinely would not need the card except if they were travelling out of the country. According to him, those who need the yellow card are people who intend to travel outside the country.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine presents a serious public health problem. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria. Unless the situation has changed recently, Nigeria is at risk for yellow fever outbreaks because it is the only country among 13 in West Africa yet to conduct mass vaccination, as was indicated in a ProMED-mail post of 24 Oct 2012 (archive no. 20121026.1366454). One hopes that the Ministry of Health's initiative to issue new cards, accompanied by vaccination, or replacement cards for old, legitimate ones will rectify the earlier problem of fake cards.
A map of Nigeria showing the locations of the states can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY]
-
Leipnizkeks
- Beiträge: 74
- Registriert: Mo 5. Dez 2011, 23:01
- Wohnort: Wiesbaden
- Kontaktdaten:
Re: Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber
http://www.spiegel.de/gesundheit/diagno ... 39196.htmlEngpass: Impfstoff gegen Gelbfieber geht aus
Keine Gelbfieber-Impfung möglich: Wegen technischer Probleme in der Produktionsstätte kann nach SPIEGEL-Informationen derzeit in Deutschland nicht gegen die gefährliche Krankheit vorgesorgt werden. Sollte der Engpass länger anhalten, könnte das auch Fußballfans Ärger bringen.
ich wollte mich im november für senegal und gambia impfen lassen (erstimpfung). die gesundheitsämter in wiesbaden, mainz und frankfurt hatten keinen impfstoff mehr. ich mußte nach frankfurt zur privaten BCRT reisepraxis fahren, dort kostete die impfung 69 euro, ich hatte den eindruck, die hatten gehortet und gerne einen aufschlag erhoben. äußerst seltsam daß ein privatunternehmen impfstoff en masse (sie schreiben noch heute, sie hätten immer genug auf vorrat) hat, und die öffentlichen stellen gar nichts mehr haben.
auch interessant wäre zu wissen, welches technisches problem da genau vorliegen soll, und warum ein defekt bei sanofi alles lahm legt, schließlich gibt es angeblich drei hersteller: http://www.gelbe-liste.de/wirkstoffe/w/ ... toff_47775
Re: Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber
Dann lass es direkt an der Grenze machen- z.B. TOGO- BENIN. Kostet 3 Euro
Oder hol Dir eine Impfbefreiung wegen Allergie.
In München z.B. wird das so ausgestellt, daß es wie eine Impfung aussieht.
Weiteres gerne per PN.
Oder hol Dir eine Impfbefreiung wegen Allergie.
In München z.B. wird das so ausgestellt, daß es wie eine Impfung aussieht.
Weiteres gerne per PN.
Re: Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber
Nun ja, eine Gelbfieberimpfung an der Grenze?
Die Grenze Togo-Benin kenne ich (noch) nicht, aber sicher ist dort alles bestens organisiert? Auch Kühlmöglichkeiten für die sachgemäße Lagerung eines Lebendimpfstoffs sind natürlich vorhanden und überlagerte Chargen werden korrekt aussortiert, oder?
Nee, im Ernst: ich habe an verschiedenen anderen Grenzen gesehen wie mehr oder weniger zwangsweise Gelbfieberimpfungen durchgeführt wurden. Das kann man m. E. nun wirklich niemandem empfehlen.
Gruß
Ulli
Die Grenze Togo-Benin kenne ich (noch) nicht, aber sicher ist dort alles bestens organisiert? Auch Kühlmöglichkeiten für die sachgemäße Lagerung eines Lebendimpfstoffs sind natürlich vorhanden und überlagerte Chargen werden korrekt aussortiert, oder?
Nee, im Ernst: ich habe an verschiedenen anderen Grenzen gesehen wie mehr oder weniger zwangsweise Gelbfieberimpfungen durchgeführt wurden. Das kann man m. E. nun wirklich niemandem empfehlen.
Gruß
Ulli
-
Birgitt
- Moderator
- Beiträge: 35219
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Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber - Gefakte Impfpässe
YELLOW FEVER - AFRICA (01): NIGERIA, FAKE CARDS
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 2 Feb 2014
Source: The Nigerian Tribune [edited]
http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/inde ... e-net.html
The need to be extra vigilant while trying to obtain crucial and relevant documents in Nigeria came to the fore recently when a man who ignorantly obtained a [fake] vaccination certificate popularly referred to as yellow card was nabbed at the Idiroko border, Ogun State, by Federal Ministry of Health officials. His arrest however led to the apprehension of 2 members of a syndicate which specialised in issuing such fake yellow cards by the Ogun State Police Command.
Yellow cards are issued to intending travellers to indicate that they had been vaccinated against yellow fever and other communicable diseases as listed and requested by some countries. Vaccination is recommended for persons over 9 months of age travelling to or living in endemic areas. The vaccine affords long-term protection.
Such countries require a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. The vaccination is expected to be administered at least 10 days before travelling and no longer than 10 years before, under International Health Regulations.
Parading the suspects to Crime Reports, the state police public relations officer [PPRO], Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police revealed that a victim (name withheld) who wanted to travel needed an international passport and a yellow card from a "Mr A" which would indicate that he had been vaccinated against some illnesses.
Though the man succeeded in obtaining the yellow card, he was reportedly arrested by health officials from Ministry of Health at Idi-Iroko border on 8 Jan [2014], when it was noticed that the yellow card he had was a fake one. He was immediately arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan.
When interrogated, he revealed that he obtained it from a young man around the immigration office at Festac town, Lagos State. This led detectives to the place and 2 suspects were arrested "Mr A and Mr O", while other fake copies of the yellow card were recovered from "Mr O".
In an interview with "Mr O", a 53 year old man from Lagos State, he said the cards were brought to him by a "Mr T" who sold them to him at N300 [USD 1.81] each, while he made a profit of N200 [USD 1.21] on each by selling at N500 [USD 3.03] to middle men who in turn sell to intending clients. According to "Mr O", "I have a business centre where I do photocopy and downloading of information from the internet to clients. The centre is at Festac Town in Lagos State beside the office of the Nigeria Immigration Services.
"The yellow cards were given to me by "Mr T". He told he had them for those who might want to obtain them. He brought them in 5s and 10s. In all, he had given me 25. I collected N500 for each, out of which I got N200 and I gave "Mr T". N300. I thought "Mr T" was a local government official. I never knew it was wrong to sell them. I didn't know they were fake, if not, I would not have collected them from him."
The 2nd suspect, "Mr A, 32, an indigene of Iwo, Osun State who lives at Ojo in Lagos State also said he was one of the touts who used to help people do online payment and downloading for international passport around immigration office at Festac Town. He further revealed that the arrested victim was directed to him by an immigration officer. The immigration officer called me that someone needed a yellow card and asked whether I could assist him. I took the man's data and went to "Mr O" to get the yellow card for him.
"I got to know from other people working around the immigration office that "Mr A" had the cards. That was how I got involved. I had obtained 4 from him. I used to collect N1000 [USD 6.05] from the clients but I paid "Mr A" N500 and made N500 profit for myself. I never knew what I was doing was contrary to the law," he said.
In his own defence, the immigration official told Crime Reports that he only asked the supplier to take the victim to the Ministry of Health secretariat at Ikeja since the man told him that he was not familiar with Lagos. "I never knew he had the intention of writing fake yellow card for the man," the official said.
The PPRO however said that investigations were still on as the police commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye was determined to wage war against producers of fake documents.
[byline: Oluwatoyin Malik]
--
communicated by:
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[The sale of fake yellow fever (YF) vaccination cards has been a recurring problem in Nigeria. In 2013, the Nigeria Ministry of Health replaced old cards with a new type in an attempt to prevent the sale of fake cards (see ProMED-mail archive no 20130827.1906967). Apparently, this effort has not been successful, since the report above indicates that there has been a recent, organized attempt to sell fake cards.
The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine presents a serious public health problem inside Nigeria and outside it. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak within the country. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria, and an unvaccinated, viremic individual with a fake card who becomes infected in Nigeria could carry YF virus to localities where vector mosquitoes are present and initiate an outbreak of this serious disease.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY
Re the statement "The vaccination is expected to be administered at least 10 days before travelling and no longer than 10 years before, under International Health Regulations." This needs clarification. The vaccine does not take its full effect until 10 days later, so a person arriving in a country less than 10 days after being vaccinated may have problems with immigration.
***WHO has recently declared:
"A single dose of YF vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained life-long protective immunity against YF disease; a booster dose is not necessary." Ref: WHO/WER (Weekly Epidemiological Report) 2013. 27(88): 269-84 (p. 281). Vaccines and vaccination against yellow fever. WHO Position Paper -- June 2013; http://www.who.int/wer/2013/wer8827.pdf?ua=1.
On p. 283 WHO says a risk assessment should be done for people aged 60 years or more, taking into account underlying medical conditions and medications. CDC says, "If you cannot get the vaccine for medical reasons but require proof of yellow fever vaccination for travel, your doctor can give you a waiver letter if he considers the risk acceptably low. If you plan to use a waiver, you should also contact the embassy of the countries you plan to visit for more information." Ref: CDC 2011. Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated with these Vaccines? http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/sho ... acc.htm#yf. Accessed 3 Feb 2014.
***Using a fake card puts not only your own life at risk but also the lives of others in your own country (if it has a vector mosquito), and in other such countries to which you travel. - Mod.JW]
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 2 Feb 2014
Source: The Nigerian Tribune [edited]
http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/inde ... e-net.html
The need to be extra vigilant while trying to obtain crucial and relevant documents in Nigeria came to the fore recently when a man who ignorantly obtained a [fake] vaccination certificate popularly referred to as yellow card was nabbed at the Idiroko border, Ogun State, by Federal Ministry of Health officials. His arrest however led to the apprehension of 2 members of a syndicate which specialised in issuing such fake yellow cards by the Ogun State Police Command.
Yellow cards are issued to intending travellers to indicate that they had been vaccinated against yellow fever and other communicable diseases as listed and requested by some countries. Vaccination is recommended for persons over 9 months of age travelling to or living in endemic areas. The vaccine affords long-term protection.
Such countries require a valid Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate. The vaccination is expected to be administered at least 10 days before travelling and no longer than 10 years before, under International Health Regulations.
Parading the suspects to Crime Reports, the state police public relations officer [PPRO], Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police revealed that a victim (name withheld) who wanted to travel needed an international passport and a yellow card from a "Mr A" which would indicate that he had been vaccinated against some illnesses.
Though the man succeeded in obtaining the yellow card, he was reportedly arrested by health officials from Ministry of Health at Idi-Iroko border on 8 Jan [2014], when it was noticed that the yellow card he had was a fake one. He was immediately arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, Ibadan.
When interrogated, he revealed that he obtained it from a young man around the immigration office at Festac town, Lagos State. This led detectives to the place and 2 suspects were arrested "Mr A and Mr O", while other fake copies of the yellow card were recovered from "Mr O".
In an interview with "Mr O", a 53 year old man from Lagos State, he said the cards were brought to him by a "Mr T" who sold them to him at N300 [USD 1.81] each, while he made a profit of N200 [USD 1.21] on each by selling at N500 [USD 3.03] to middle men who in turn sell to intending clients. According to "Mr O", "I have a business centre where I do photocopy and downloading of information from the internet to clients. The centre is at Festac Town in Lagos State beside the office of the Nigeria Immigration Services.
"The yellow cards were given to me by "Mr T". He told he had them for those who might want to obtain them. He brought them in 5s and 10s. In all, he had given me 25. I collected N500 for each, out of which I got N200 and I gave "Mr T". N300. I thought "Mr T" was a local government official. I never knew it was wrong to sell them. I didn't know they were fake, if not, I would not have collected them from him."
The 2nd suspect, "Mr A, 32, an indigene of Iwo, Osun State who lives at Ojo in Lagos State also said he was one of the touts who used to help people do online payment and downloading for international passport around immigration office at Festac Town. He further revealed that the arrested victim was directed to him by an immigration officer. The immigration officer called me that someone needed a yellow card and asked whether I could assist him. I took the man's data and went to "Mr O" to get the yellow card for him.
"I got to know from other people working around the immigration office that "Mr A" had the cards. That was how I got involved. I had obtained 4 from him. I used to collect N1000 [USD 6.05] from the clients but I paid "Mr A" N500 and made N500 profit for myself. I never knew what I was doing was contrary to the law," he said.
In his own defence, the immigration official told Crime Reports that he only asked the supplier to take the victim to the Ministry of Health secretariat at Ikeja since the man told him that he was not familiar with Lagos. "I never knew he had the intention of writing fake yellow card for the man," the official said.
The PPRO however said that investigations were still on as the police commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye was determined to wage war against producers of fake documents.
[byline: Oluwatoyin Malik]
--
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[The sale of fake yellow fever (YF) vaccination cards has been a recurring problem in Nigeria. In 2013, the Nigeria Ministry of Health replaced old cards with a new type in an attempt to prevent the sale of fake cards (see ProMED-mail archive no 20130827.1906967). Apparently, this effort has not been successful, since the report above indicates that there has been a recent, organized attempt to sell fake cards.
The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine presents a serious public health problem inside Nigeria and outside it. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak within the country. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria, and an unvaccinated, viremic individual with a fake card who becomes infected in Nigeria could carry YF virus to localities where vector mosquitoes are present and initiate an outbreak of this serious disease.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY
Re the statement "The vaccination is expected to be administered at least 10 days before travelling and no longer than 10 years before, under International Health Regulations." This needs clarification. The vaccine does not take its full effect until 10 days later, so a person arriving in a country less than 10 days after being vaccinated may have problems with immigration.
***WHO has recently declared:
"A single dose of YF vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained life-long protective immunity against YF disease; a booster dose is not necessary." Ref: WHO/WER (Weekly Epidemiological Report) 2013. 27(88): 269-84 (p. 281). Vaccines and vaccination against yellow fever. WHO Position Paper -- June 2013; http://www.who.int/wer/2013/wer8827.pdf?ua=1.
On p. 283 WHO says a risk assessment should be done for people aged 60 years or more, taking into account underlying medical conditions and medications. CDC says, "If you cannot get the vaccine for medical reasons but require proof of yellow fever vaccination for travel, your doctor can give you a waiver letter if he considers the risk acceptably low. If you plan to use a waiver, you should also contact the embassy of the countries you plan to visit for more information." Ref: CDC 2011. Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated with these Vaccines? http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/sho ... acc.htm#yf. Accessed 3 Feb 2014.
***Using a fake card puts not only your own life at risk but also the lives of others in your own country (if it has a vector mosquito), and in other such countries to which you travel. - Mod.JW]
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Birgitt
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Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber - Gefakte Impfpässe
YELLOW FEVER - AFRICA (02): NIGERIA, FAKE CARDS
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: 13 Feb 2014
Source: All Africa [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201402130476.html
Issuance of fake yellow fever cards, otherwise known as International Certificates of Vaccination (ICV), to travellers is reported to be thriving in Kaduna State. The card is required for entering certain countries.
Daily Trust learned that some unauthorised persons or agents are issuing yellow fever cards to unsuspecting individuals in Kaduna.
The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, last year [2013] urged travellers still using the old yellow fever cards to replace them with the new encoded ones. He also noted that foreign countries had been informed not to recognise the old card by 1 Oct 2013.
Alhaji Suleiman Abdulkadir, a resident of Kaduna, told Daily Trust that he was given a yellow fever card at the health office of the Kaduna North Local Government secretariat in October last year [2013], which he said was rejected at the embassy as it was said to be fake.
"I reported to the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, where it was also confirmed that the card was fake. The original one that the federal government advertised is being sold for N 1000 [USD 6.00], including the vaccine, but at the Kaduna North LG secretariat, I was charged N 2000 [USD 12.00] for each of the 4 cards I was issued, yet I was given a fake one; it is not even the amount that matters but the implications of holding a fake card, which is more than the N 2000 [USD 12.00]. Now, embassies are rejecting it," he said.
Deputy Director in the press office of the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, Clement Egbeama, said: "I think what they refer to as fake yellow fever cards are the old ones that are no longer acceptable anywhere." He noted that the new one has security feature just like the Nigerian currency and is a little bigger and stronger than the old one. The texts on the cover of the new card are printed in silver. "Unlike the old card, the new one cannot be printed anywhere because of the security feature, and the sensitive material used and the stamps on the card are in blue colour," he added.
On who has the mandate to issue the card, he said initially only the Federal Ministry of Health was issuing it to travellers at the cost of N 1000 [USD 6.00], but now it has been extended to all states except Kaduna and Plateau because they have not got offices for that purpose.
Our reporter who visited the Kaduna North Local Government secretariat to demand the card was told that it was not available in Kaduna except in Lagos and Abuja airports.
[Byline: Christiana T. Alabi]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine continues and presents a serious public health problem inside Nigeria and outside of it. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak within the country. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria, and an unvaccinated, viremic individual with a fake card who becomes infected in Nigeria could carry YF virus to localities where vector mosquitoes are present and initiate an outbreak of this serious disease. One wonders, if the practice of issuance of fake YF cards continues, whether countries most at risk in Central and North America, South and Southeast Asia will deny visas to or admittance of individuals coming from Nigeria unless they can prove that their cards are legitimate.
This report also came in from Google Alerts.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY
The problem of fake cards from Nigeria has been going on for nearly 2 years now -- see ProMED archives for 2012 below. A NIgerian correspondent reports "This has been going on for a long time I believe! Even the so-called hospitals issue such certificates without any confirmation or anything. All you need to do is request for one and you are given!"
It is disconcerting to learn that in Kaduna and Plateau states there is nowhere to get a YF vaccination. This situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
*****
Everyone who has obtained a YF vaccination card without receiving the vaccine should get vaccinated for their own protection and the protection of everyone in countries they visit that have dengue, because the same mosquito also transmits yellow fever. - Mod.JW
*****]
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: 13 Feb 2014
Source: All Africa [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201402130476.html
Issuance of fake yellow fever cards, otherwise known as International Certificates of Vaccination (ICV), to travellers is reported to be thriving in Kaduna State. The card is required for entering certain countries.
Daily Trust learned that some unauthorised persons or agents are issuing yellow fever cards to unsuspecting individuals in Kaduna.
The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, last year [2013] urged travellers still using the old yellow fever cards to replace them with the new encoded ones. He also noted that foreign countries had been informed not to recognise the old card by 1 Oct 2013.
Alhaji Suleiman Abdulkadir, a resident of Kaduna, told Daily Trust that he was given a yellow fever card at the health office of the Kaduna North Local Government secretariat in October last year [2013], which he said was rejected at the embassy as it was said to be fake.
"I reported to the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, where it was also confirmed that the card was fake. The original one that the federal government advertised is being sold for N 1000 [USD 6.00], including the vaccine, but at the Kaduna North LG secretariat, I was charged N 2000 [USD 12.00] for each of the 4 cards I was issued, yet I was given a fake one; it is not even the amount that matters but the implications of holding a fake card, which is more than the N 2000 [USD 12.00]. Now, embassies are rejecting it," he said.
Deputy Director in the press office of the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, Clement Egbeama, said: "I think what they refer to as fake yellow fever cards are the old ones that are no longer acceptable anywhere." He noted that the new one has security feature just like the Nigerian currency and is a little bigger and stronger than the old one. The texts on the cover of the new card are printed in silver. "Unlike the old card, the new one cannot be printed anywhere because of the security feature, and the sensitive material used and the stamps on the card are in blue colour," he added.
On who has the mandate to issue the card, he said initially only the Federal Ministry of Health was issuing it to travellers at the cost of N 1000 [USD 6.00], but now it has been extended to all states except Kaduna and Plateau because they have not got offices for that purpose.
Our reporter who visited the Kaduna North Local Government secretariat to demand the card was told that it was not available in Kaduna except in Lagos and Abuja airports.
[Byline: Christiana T. Alabi]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The sale of fake yellow fever vaccination cards to individuals who did not receive the vaccine continues and presents a serious public health problem inside Nigeria and outside of it. Susceptible, unvaccinated individuals can contribute to a YF outbreak within the country. YF virus is endemic in Nigeria, and an unvaccinated, viremic individual with a fake card who becomes infected in Nigeria could carry YF virus to localities where vector mosquitoes are present and initiate an outbreak of this serious disease. One wonders, if the practice of issuance of fake YF cards continues, whether countries most at risk in Central and North America, South and Southeast Asia will deny visas to or admittance of individuals coming from Nigeria unless they can prove that their cards are legitimate.
This report also came in from Google Alerts.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY
The problem of fake cards from Nigeria has been going on for nearly 2 years now -- see ProMED archives for 2012 below. A NIgerian correspondent reports "This has been going on for a long time I believe! Even the so-called hospitals issue such certificates without any confirmation or anything. All you need to do is request for one and you are given!"
It is disconcerting to learn that in Kaduna and Plateau states there is nowhere to get a YF vaccination. This situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
*****
Everyone who has obtained a YF vaccination card without receiving the vaccine should get vaccinated for their own protection and the protection of everyone in countries they visit that have dengue, because the same mosquito also transmits yellow fever. - Mod.JW
*****]
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Birgitt
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Impfvorschriften Gelbfieber - Impfpässe in Nigeria
YELLOW FEVER - AFRICA (03): NIGERIA, CARDS
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 7 Mar 2014
Source: All Africa [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201403070412.html
The distribution of the new International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV-P), otherwise known as Yellow Card, in Nigeria is being frustrated by shortage of personnel, the federal government said yesterday [6 Mar 2014].
Dr. Sani Gwarzo of the Department of Port Health Services (PHS), who was speaking during a sensitisation workshop organised for stakeholders on the new security-featured Yellow Card yesterday [6 Mar 2014] in Abuja, lamented that inadequate personnel, unenforceable and obsolete laws, and activities of fraudsters, among other problems, were hindering the exercise.
The department is charged with the responsibility of vaccination and issuance of Yellow Cards against the yellow fever disease.
Anyone travelling out of Nigeria is required to take the yellow fever vaccination, according to the World Health Organisation's requirement, and be provided with an international health certificate to indicate that he [or she] has been vaccinated.
The National Council on Health last year [2013] passed a resolution approving the production of new Yellow Cards by the PHS, which was launched by the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu. The new card has many features which the organisers say make it almost impossible to duplicate.
Gwarzo said there was need for Nigerians to get the yellow fever vaccination because of its endemic nature and to save themselves and the country from embarrassment abroad.
[Byline: Ruby Leo and Safiyah Abdur-Razaq]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The availability of new yellow fever (YF) vaccination cards that cannot easily be illegally duplicated in Nigeria is good news. However, the difficulties in their distribution due to lack of personnel is of concern. The statement of Dr. Gwarzo indicating that "activities of fraudsters ... were hindering" the issuance of YF vaccination cards is worrisome, because it suggests that the sale of fake cards is continuing.
Inadvertent transport of YF virus in viremic individuals from Nigeria to YF virus-free areas of the world where ample mosquito vectors occur would be more than an embarrassment; it could be a public health disaster. One hopes that Nigerian health authorities will aggressively implement issuance of the new YF vaccination cards and crack down on sale of fake cards.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY]
[YF virus-free areas of the world where ample mosquito vectors occur include every country with endemic dengue, and now the areas around San Franciso, California, and Houston, Texas, the Republic of Georgia and adjacent areas of southern Russia, where _Aedes aegypti_ has recently become established. - Mod.JW]
******************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 7 Mar 2014
Source: All Africa [edited]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201403070412.html
The distribution of the new International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV-P), otherwise known as Yellow Card, in Nigeria is being frustrated by shortage of personnel, the federal government said yesterday [6 Mar 2014].
Dr. Sani Gwarzo of the Department of Port Health Services (PHS), who was speaking during a sensitisation workshop organised for stakeholders on the new security-featured Yellow Card yesterday [6 Mar 2014] in Abuja, lamented that inadequate personnel, unenforceable and obsolete laws, and activities of fraudsters, among other problems, were hindering the exercise.
The department is charged with the responsibility of vaccination and issuance of Yellow Cards against the yellow fever disease.
Anyone travelling out of Nigeria is required to take the yellow fever vaccination, according to the World Health Organisation's requirement, and be provided with an international health certificate to indicate that he [or she] has been vaccinated.
The National Council on Health last year [2013] passed a resolution approving the production of new Yellow Cards by the PHS, which was launched by the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu. The new card has many features which the organisers say make it almost impossible to duplicate.
Gwarzo said there was need for Nigerians to get the yellow fever vaccination because of its endemic nature and to save themselves and the country from embarrassment abroad.
[Byline: Ruby Leo and Safiyah Abdur-Razaq]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The availability of new yellow fever (YF) vaccination cards that cannot easily be illegally duplicated in Nigeria is good news. However, the difficulties in their distribution due to lack of personnel is of concern. The statement of Dr. Gwarzo indicating that "activities of fraudsters ... were hindering" the issuance of YF vaccination cards is worrisome, because it suggests that the sale of fake cards is continuing.
Inadvertent transport of YF virus in viremic individuals from Nigeria to YF virus-free areas of the world where ample mosquito vectors occur would be more than an embarrassment; it could be a public health disaster. One hopes that Nigerian health authorities will aggressively implement issuance of the new YF vaccination cards and crack down on sale of fake cards.
An administrative map of Nigeria can be accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/nigeria_pol93.jpg, and a HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/1qGF. - Mod.TY]
[YF virus-free areas of the world where ample mosquito vectors occur include every country with endemic dengue, and now the areas around San Franciso, California, and Houston, Texas, the Republic of Georgia and adjacent areas of southern Russia, where _Aedes aegypti_ has recently become established. - Mod.JW]
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Gelbfieber - Impfstoff in Indien
YELLOW FEVER VACCINE AVAILABILITY - INDIA: (MAHARASHTRA)
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 13 Apr 2014
Source: The Times of India, Times News Network (TNN) [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 678609.cms
The Union government's yellow fever [YF] vaccination centre, which was supposed to come up in (Pune) city 2 years back, is yet to take off as authorities have now decided to shift the venue of the centre to Aundh Civil Hospital instead of B J Medical College.
The change of location is due to the technical issues related to the procurement of medical equipment. "Earlier, we had decided to set up the centre at B J Medical College attached to Sassoon Hospital, which is under the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). There were some technical issues in terms of procurement of medical paraphernalia. We have now decided to set up the centre at Aundh Civil Hospital which comes under the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Public Health Department," said Vasant Gokak, senior regional director (regional office) of the Union ministry of health and family welfare.
"If everything goes as per our plans, the centre will become functional within a month," he said, adding that the Union government has also proposed to set up 2 more centres in Aurangabad and Nagpur.
Gokak said that the aim is to cater to the large number of people travelling to [YF] endemic countries in Africa and South America. Currently, they have to go to Mumbai to get the shot and obtain the mandatory yellow fever vaccination certificate, in the absence of which, they do not get permission to travel.
Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhaegic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. 'Yellow' refers to jaundice that affects some patients. There is no cure for yellow fever; treatment is symptomatic and is aimed at reducing the symptoms. "There will be a one-room facility at the government health centre. It will be manned by a medical officer and a nurse. It will offer vaccination only on fixed days and during fixed hours for those travelling to yellow-fever endemic countries," said a state health official.
Certain countries in South Africa and South America require travelers to get the yellow fever vaccination certificate. Also, people coming to India from these countries need a certificate stating that he or she is vaccinated otherwise they are quarantined at the airport hospitals and kept under observation for 10 days.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is valid only if it conforms to the model certificate. The validity period of the international certificate is 10 years, beginning 10 days after vaccination. [WHO recently extended the validity to lifetime, but there is no guarantee that all immigration authorities have heard the news yet. - Mod.JW]
Foreign nationals residing in or who have passed through the yellow fever endemic countries during the preceding 6 days, are granted visas only after producing the vaccination certificate. After checking the vaccination certificate an entry read as 'Valid Yellow fever Vaccination Certificate Checked' is made in the passport of the passenger.
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Yellow fever (YF) vaccination in India over the past 12 months has been fraught with difficulties. The vaccine was in short supply and fake YF vaccination cards were being sold illegally. Apparently, the vaccine shortage is over.
The report above emphasizes the requirement for vaccination status to be recorded on official cards. Easy availability of vaccination centers to the traveling public will be essential to insure that individuals traveling to YF endemic countries are, in fact, vaccinated.
The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that the arrival of the vaccine and its free administration has made vaccination possible and ended the illegal sale of fake YF vaccination cards as well. As soon as all travelers in India bound for YF countries receive the vaccine, the risk of introduction of YF virus by them will be eliminated.
Even so, India needs to have a contingency plan that can be swiftly initiated should a YF case appear in its national territory.
Maps of India can be seen at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/promed/p/310. - Mod.TY]
********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 13 Apr 2014
Source: The Times of India, Times News Network (TNN) [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 678609.cms
The Union government's yellow fever [YF] vaccination centre, which was supposed to come up in (Pune) city 2 years back, is yet to take off as authorities have now decided to shift the venue of the centre to Aundh Civil Hospital instead of B J Medical College.
The change of location is due to the technical issues related to the procurement of medical equipment. "Earlier, we had decided to set up the centre at B J Medical College attached to Sassoon Hospital, which is under the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). There were some technical issues in terms of procurement of medical paraphernalia. We have now decided to set up the centre at Aundh Civil Hospital which comes under the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Public Health Department," said Vasant Gokak, senior regional director (regional office) of the Union ministry of health and family welfare.
"If everything goes as per our plans, the centre will become functional within a month," he said, adding that the Union government has also proposed to set up 2 more centres in Aurangabad and Nagpur.
Gokak said that the aim is to cater to the large number of people travelling to [YF] endemic countries in Africa and South America. Currently, they have to go to Mumbai to get the shot and obtain the mandatory yellow fever vaccination certificate, in the absence of which, they do not get permission to travel.
Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhaegic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. 'Yellow' refers to jaundice that affects some patients. There is no cure for yellow fever; treatment is symptomatic and is aimed at reducing the symptoms. "There will be a one-room facility at the government health centre. It will be manned by a medical officer and a nurse. It will offer vaccination only on fixed days and during fixed hours for those travelling to yellow-fever endemic countries," said a state health official.
Certain countries in South Africa and South America require travelers to get the yellow fever vaccination certificate. Also, people coming to India from these countries need a certificate stating that he or she is vaccinated otherwise they are quarantined at the airport hospitals and kept under observation for 10 days.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is valid only if it conforms to the model certificate. The validity period of the international certificate is 10 years, beginning 10 days after vaccination. [WHO recently extended the validity to lifetime, but there is no guarantee that all immigration authorities have heard the news yet. - Mod.JW]
Foreign nationals residing in or who have passed through the yellow fever endemic countries during the preceding 6 days, are granted visas only after producing the vaccination certificate. After checking the vaccination certificate an entry read as 'Valid Yellow fever Vaccination Certificate Checked' is made in the passport of the passenger.
--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Yellow fever (YF) vaccination in India over the past 12 months has been fraught with difficulties. The vaccine was in short supply and fake YF vaccination cards were being sold illegally. Apparently, the vaccine shortage is over.
The report above emphasizes the requirement for vaccination status to be recorded on official cards. Easy availability of vaccination centers to the traveling public will be essential to insure that individuals traveling to YF endemic countries are, in fact, vaccinated.
The arrival of an individual returning home to India from a YF endemic country viremic with YF virus could initiate an ongoing urban outbreak that could quickly become a very serious public health problem in India and beyond, since the vector mosquito is present in most of India and Southeast Asia, where YF virus is absent currently. One hopes that the arrival of the vaccine and its free administration has made vaccination possible and ended the illegal sale of fake YF vaccination cards as well. As soon as all travelers in India bound for YF countries receive the vaccine, the risk of introduction of YF virus by them will be eliminated.
Even so, India needs to have a contingency plan that can be swiftly initiated should a YF case appear in its national territory.
Maps of India can be seen at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/i ... al-map.htm and http://healthmap.org/promed/p/310. - Mod.TY]
