My wife and I leave for Zimbabwe and South Africa in eight days, and my question is this - Do we need a yellow fever immunization in order to enter South Africa from Zimbabwe?

I've checked the CDC website and several other sources, but have found conflicting or non-specific information. I trust all you AR guys as being very knowlegeable, so what can you tell me about this?

Never needed it in Southern Africa. But, when I went to Cameroon, if you could not prove you had the Yellow Fever shot, they would not let you out of the reception area in the airport. You would have to catch the next plane out of the country if you didn't have it.

That sure would have put a major damper on a safari.

My belief is that you only need the Int. Cert. of Vacs. for Yellow Fever IF you are coming from a country where yellow fever is present. Zim is not one of those countries so you should be fine.

I have never needed it. Going to SA from east Africa, yes but not out of Zim.

Hello Kaizer

You do not need Yellow fever vaccination for Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Regards
Aziz

+1

Any questions about vaccines and travel medicine are well adressed at the cdc web site.

This is one of the few things the government does well.

http://www.cdc.gov/

Looking at the CDC site it would seem that a traveler heading to Namibia and Zambia routed through RSA does not need proof of Yellow Fever Vaccination.

Is that true?

The only country ever asking for my Yellow Fever certificate was Zambia and that wwas in 1985. I was back 10 years later and not asked. I try to keep my immunizations up to date and my certificate available when I travel; one less excuse for some local official with an ax to grind.

My wife and I just returned from Zim each time passing through Jo'burg.....we also walked into Zambia at Vic Falls and took a day trip to Chobe Park Botswana. I am not immunized against Yellow fever, nor is my wife. No problem. I know for sure SA-ZIM-SA is a non issue..........not so for Tanzania-SA. Jim Hinde

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Looking at the CDC site it would seem that a traveler heading to Namibia and Zambia routed through RSA does not need proof of Yellow Fever Vaccination.

Is that true?

absolutely

you only need a vaccination cert. if you are coming from an endemic yellow fever country( central and west Africa) TO a nonendemic country( southern Africa).neither Zim OR RSA are endemic countries. as far as going from Tz. to RSA AND NEEDING A CERT., DID THAT 5 YEARS AGO WITH NO PROBLEMS.

I have a current yellow fever innoculation, but I understand that, if you aren't current and South Africa determines that you should have it, they'll give it to you at the airport. With the AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa that never seened like a good plan to me, so I keep a current shot record just in case.

Each to his own, but I get those shots at the same place I get my anti-malarials, so I have to visit there before most African trips in any case, so it's no extra trouble.

The map on the link below will show you the countries that require a yellow fever vaccination certificate.

http://www.shakariconnection.c...fever-in-africa.html

This might also be of interest: http://www.shakariconnection.c...lth-before-hunt.html

Regarding required vaccinations, NEVER confuse what a government requires for groups of people with what is beneficial to an individual. Governments are interested in protecting groups of people, not individuals.

YMMV
Link to CDC Yellow Book (Health Information for International Travel) 2010