Chiriquí Chatter

I requested information on the Yellow Fever Vaccinations from the ACS and they sent me the following:

UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION
TRAVELERS MUST BE VACCINATED AGAINST YELLOW FEVER
September 30, 2008
The Ministry of Health reminds Panamanian and foreign citizens that there are three places equipped and authorized for vaccination against yellow fever in the Republic of Panama, where an international vaccination card will also be provided.

The centers are: the international vaccination office of Metropolitan Health Region, located at Los Ríos (reverted area), main street, on the side of the Institutional Protection System, building 237; office of International Maritime Health in the port of Cristóbal, Colón province; and the office for Regional Epidemiology Coordination in the district of David, Chiriquí province.

Attention hours for those who need the vaccine are Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and the cost is five dollars.  Passengers in transit and coming from countries that are not included in the list of 45 countries with risk of yellow fever transmission, according the World Health Organization’s (WHO) classification, are not required to have the international vaccination card against this disease.

For this vaccine to be effective it must be applied 10 days before the stipulated travel date and the dose duration (efficient protective titers) is 10 years.

The health measure announced by the Ministry of Health, of requesting as of next November 1, that all national or foreign travelers that enter Panama from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission be vaccinated, seeks to prevent the resurgence of the disease in the country.

It is necessary to remember that the last cases of sylvan yellow fever in Panama were registered in 1974 and the Ministry of Health tries to comply with what is established in the 2005 International Health Regulation (RSI), in preventing the spreading of epidemics and improving cooperation among countries with that same objective.
Its adaptation is oriented towards current world challenges in view of the reappearance of infectious diseases, of the growing risk of international spreading and of the appearance of new health alerts with worldwide repercussions.

According to the WHO, 111 countries (including Panama) require that persons who enter their territory from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission be vaccinated.

Panama has an established epidemiological monitoring of yellow fever, proper attention of suspect cases, continuous education to the health team on disease prevention and control, information, education and communication with the community of prevention and control measures of yellow fever,  a viral, transmissible, preventable and acute infectious disease, of rapid evolution and variable seriousness that is transmitted through a mosquito bite.

Next is a list of countries with risk of yellow fever transmission, according to the World Health Organization (WHO):

The list provided by the WHO of countries that request vaccination against yellow fever from international travelers that come from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission:

(From the Panamanian Ministry of Health)
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The following links also provide helpful information on the yellow fever:
CDC yellow fever web page: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/YellowFever/index.html and
WHO yellow fever web page: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/yellowfev/en/

Tags: ACS, Health