cynstalker

The CDC site says no, all doctors of everyone travlling with me say no; but my tour operator says yes. We will not be coming from one of the countries on the list. Anyone been recently - did you need the vaccine? We go from USA/England/Botswana/USA.

Thanks for any help!

Cyn

Safari_Craig

yellow fever is NOT required to go to Zambia. It is required to travel from Zambia to South Africa. The law is a new South African law and has nothing to do with any new Zambian law. If you fly from Livingstone/LVI to Johanesburg/JNB then you will need yellow fever to enter South Africa.

This will likely not be mentioned on any CDC site with regards to Zambia.

Our representative at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg has advised that immigration officials at the airport have now been informed that the requirement for a Yellow Fever inoculation for people arriving into South Africa from Zambia will come into effect sometime in the next month or so. They have not received an official government notice and are not checking/stopping anyone at this stage and apparently will not do so until they receive the official notice.

Th Director of Public Health in Zambia is in discussion with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva as apparently there is no Yellow Fever in Zambia and never has been. However, only the Director General of WHO can advise the South Africans to remove Zambia from the list of countries requiring the vaccine.

To avoid possible inconvenience/frustration, I recommend that you err on the side of caution and have this inoculation if you are travelling to Zambia and South Africa on the same trip.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

qwovadis

http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destin...ca/zambia.html

Not required no YF there but if visiting/coming from

a YF country in Africa to Zambia you may need it

so do careful research.

qwovadis

http://www.mdtravelhealth.com/destin...a/botswana.php

not required for Botswana either...

Keep in mind if u are in transit through a YF country by air

that will count.

when in doubt get the jab or tell them u are allergic to eggs

and get the waiver... either will work

PacoAhedo

Back from Zambia yesterday and no YF required if arriving from London , we where told it was required if you arrive from Jborg.

By the way Zambia was fantastic ,enjoy your trip.

Paco

cynstalker

Thanks for the kind replies. This is so frustrating - we leave tomorrow for London; and everything I had read said just what you're saying qwovadis; if coming from/to a YF country it's needed - and we're not. Thought we were good.

Craig - my tour operator sent me the visa application from the Zambian Embassy, and it does state (item 12) that a yellow fever shot is required.

We're all able to get the shots today - Whew!

Again, thanks for the help.

Cyn

Safari_Craig

Thanks Cyn. Looks like you are all set. The requirement is from South Africa not Zambia. Have a great trip!

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

sandi

Sounds very political to me... with SA now requiring those arriving from Zambia. One country wants and then so too the other and even if as an "in transit" visitor... ugh! Sure hope the WHO gets this settled somehow.

But know that it's happened before between Kenya and Tanzania. And, until the recent outbreak of YF in Uganda and thus Tanzania now requiring ALL visitors (even from US, UK, OZ, CA, etc... not only possible YF countries) to have this jab and proof of same for entry. Bearing in mind that up till recently, neither Kenya nor Tanzania had a YF outbreak since who knows when. And, though Kenya too requires the YF jab for those arriving from Tanzania, doesn't appear to be checking as is Tanzania. Beats me what they're up to!

cyn - besides the fact that you were all able to get your YF inoc before departure to Zambia, know that this jab isn't effective till 10/days, so fingers crossed no one is checking dates. Enjoy your holiday.

internetwiz

I'm also confused. I called the South African Embassy in Washington, DC yesterday and spoke to the Minister of Health office. They didn't know anything about this new requirement. I haven't seen anything posted on an authoritative South African or Zambian website. Has anyone else? I don't want to go through the hassle or expense of getting a YF shot based on discussion boards. Any definitive resources would be greatly appreciated.

mkulove

Sandy, Re: Yellow Fever

Are you sure that US clients coming into Tanzania DIRECTLY from the US are now required to get the Yellow Fever shot? How reliable is your source of this informtion and/or, can you send the link where this info came from, please?

Thanks.

sandi

mkulove - I replied on your other thread and see link provided by sdb to this effect (scroll down to Medical Alert).

YES, ALL visitors to Tanzania and their islands require YF inoc for entry! That's it!

SecretaryBird

And the yellow fever debacle carries on with the S A Department of Health sending out a newsflash today 21 July 2011, stating that

“The public is advised to note that Zambia is not presently on the list of countries from which South Africa requires a Yellow Fever certificate and travellers to and from this country are not required to have a valid Yellow Fever certificate.”

Here is a really good summary of sequence of events which will hopefully provide some clarity to travellers:

http://www.mysafari.com/travel-forum...ravellers/301/

cynstalker

Just returned from Botswana/Zambia via South Africa. At no time did anyone request our yellow fever certificates. When we tried to give them to anyone, they just handed them right back.

sandi

TIA!