Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristie  I'd check the visa requirements for south africa and verify whether a yellow fever shot is needed. we needed one to get into Ghana and i thought i'd heard that africa as a whole requires proof of immunization against yellow fever. |
Good advice!!! Here's what I found...
The
destinations section of the CDC website says this about South Africa:
Although yellow fever is not a disease risk in South Africa, the government requires travelers arriving from countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination. If you will be traveling to one of these countries where yellow fever is present before arriving in South Africa, this requirement must be taken into consideration.
The
State Department page about SA says:
Travelers entering South Africa from countries where yellow fever is endemic are often required to present their yellow World Health Organization (WHO) vaccination record or other proof of inoculation. If they are unable to do so, they must be inoculated at the airport in order to be permitted entry.
We will not be entering from one of the endemic areas, which probably explains why the vaccination was not required.
However... we will be overflying the areas where yellow fever IS endemic and I would hate to arrive in South Africa after an unexpected/unscheduled stop in one of those places and not be able to continue our journey without an additional delay.
So, I wonder if it would be worth getting one anyway...