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Outbreak of yellow fever shakes up travel on tighter health checks

Wednesday April 20 2016

An outbreak of yellow fever has stirred travel in the region as countries moved to impose tighter immigration controls to prevent further spread of the disease.

A survey by Shipping& Logistics showed that health and immigration officials in east, central and southern Africa have in recent weeks tightened border controls following the outbreak of the disease that has so far claimed hundreds of lives in Angola.

Kenya is among countries that have tightened border controls even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that frequent travellers risked spreading the mosquito-borne virus that was first reported in Angola’s capital, Luanda in December.

“Kenya takes yellow fever concerns very seriously. Any Kenyan coming into the country from countries such as Uganda, DRC or Angola and has no valid yellow fever certificate will be quarantined. Non-Kenyans who do not have valid yellow fever certificates are denied entry,” the Health ministry said in an update on Monday and listed Uganda, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as high risk.

Kenya has so far confirmed two cases of yellow fever among its nationals returning from Angola. One survived the diseases but the other one succumbed to it on March 16 while undergoing treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Uganda and Rwanda have too joined the bandwagon and imposed the stringent health checks, limiting travel for those without special immunisation against the virus.

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“Please remember to carry your yellow fever certificates if travelling by air to Uganda. I forgot to and had to pay $40 (Sh4,000) for the injection,” Carol Musyoka, a Nairobi-based consultant shared her experience on social media on Monday.

Kenyan authorities early this month took issue with Uganda for putting up posters claiming there was a yellow fever outbreak in the country.

Rwandan Health minister Agnes Binagwaho said visitors from yellow fever endemic countries are required to present mandatory vaccination certificates upon arrival in the East Africa nation.

“All residents travelling to yellow fever endemic countries should be vaccinated at least 10 days before travelling,” she said in a circular dated April 17 and listed 42 countries Rwanda considered high risk.

Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan,Sudan, Uganda the DRC, Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Burundi are among countries Rwanda lists as yellow fever endemic nations.

Closely monitored

The WHO appealed for caution to prevent the spread of the disease which it said “is a threat to the entire world”.

“The evolution of the situation in Angola is concerning and needs to be closely monitored. The reports of imported cases of yellow fever in China, DRC and Kenya demonstrate that this outbreak constitutes a potential threat for the entire world,” it said.

It added: “In the context of an ongoing yellow fever outbreak in Angola, special attention should also be placed on travellers returning from Angola and other potentially endemic areas. Travellers, particularly those arriving in Asia from Africa or Latin America should always have a certificate of yellow fever vaccination”

Disruptions due to disease endemics often prove costly for players in the travel industry who are left reeling from low trade volumes.

The recent outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa devastated airlines servicing the region such as Kenya Airways, Emirates, South Africa Airways, Air Côte d’Ivoire, British Airways and Arik Air after they were forced to suspend services amid safety concerns.

The Ebola outbreak which began in January 2014, wreaked havoc in Guinea and Liberia in addition to Sierra Leone killing more than 11,000 people in the three countries.

Kenya Airways only resumed flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone in September after Kenyan health officials lifted a ban placed in 2014 due to the Ebola virus. The national carrier stopped flying to Monrovia and Freetown in August 2014, losing routes worth tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Before the Ebola outbreak, Kenya Airways operated 44 scheduled flights a week to 10 West African cities, including Conakry in Guinea, where the epidemic started in March 2014, Freetown in Sierra Leone and Monrovia in Liberia.

West Africa’s contribution to the total Africa routes revenue is significant, with the region accounting for 10 or more than a quarter of its 36 destinations, significance to KQ was laid bare during the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea which saw the airline suspend flights to the three countries for months, costing it more than Sh4 billion.

During the previous outbreak of Ebola, air travel to the region was cut by more than 50 per cent amid pleas by the WHO and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for continued services.

In line with guidelines from the IATA and the WHO, several major airlines and international airports took to health screening passengers on flights from West Africa. Others, however, pulled out services altogether.
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