India gets yellow fever vaccine after severe shortage

PTI Jul 19, 2013,

NEW DELHI: In a major relief for those travelling to African nations, government today received a consignment of 60,000 yellow fever vaccine doses through WHO which will be distributed across the country.

There has been acute shortage of the vaccine in the country and users are finding it difficult to get the vaccine ever since the Kasauli-based Central Research Institute stopped its manufacture.

The yellow fever vaccine is compulsory for all those travelling to African nations, after the World Health Organisation held a consultation on yellow fever saying the threat of introduction of Yellow Fever into Asia was very real in the age of faster air travel.

"There was a shortage of yellow fever vaccine as WHO was not supplying it leading to problems for users. We have procured 60,000 vaccines and the same are being distributed to 27 vaccination centres across the country for use," Director General of Health Service Jagdish Prasad told PTI.

The Health Ministry has already placed an order of 2.75 lakh doses of the vaccine from the WHO which are likely to be received soon and would be sufficient for two years.

The yellow fever vaccine is available at 27 government vaccination centres free of cost and is also available in the open market. However, due to shortage of the vaccine, it is being sold in the blackmarket by private retailers, leading to problems for those travelling to African nations.

Source - Economic Times

Yellow fever vaccine to be available from next week in government centers

IANS Jul 23, 2013, 01.41PM IST

The health ministry Monday said the yellow fevervaccine, which had been in severe shortage, would be available at all government-approved centres by next week.

"The supplies have arrived at the Mumbai port and sample for quality control certification has been sent to the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli on Thursday (July 18). Regular vaccination at all centres is expected to be normal within this week," an official release said here.

It further said that the vaccine had been supplied to all the yellow fever vaccination centres in the four metros Monday.

Yellow fever disease is endemic to 44 countries, of which 23 are in Africa and 11 in South America. India is free from the disease.

People visiting these endemic countries can get protection by immunisation against yellow fever through vaccine. Total annual demand of yellow fever vaccine in India is 1.8 lakh doses, the release said.

There are 27 yellow fever vaccination centres in the country.

The shortage of vaccine in the government-designated centres since March 2013 has been due to break-down of equipment at CRI Kasauli and interruption in supply of importation throughWorld Health Organisation due to global paucity.

Source - Times of India 

CDC / Yellow Fever Vaccine Booster still recommended every 10 years

Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Clinical  update: release July 18, 2013

 

Key Points

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that booster doses of yellow fever vaccine are no longer necessary. However, CDC has not changed the recommendation that US travelers receive booster doses of yellow fever vaccine every 10 years if traveling to an area with risk of exposure to yellow fever virus.

 

Furthermore, the International Health Regulations (IHR) have not changed, and booster doses are still needed if yellow fever vaccination is required for entry into a particular country.

 

Background

The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts recently concluded that a single dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and lifelong protection against yellow fever disease and that a booster dose of the vaccine is not needed. Until now, WHO has recommended booster doses of yellow fever vaccine every 10 years for people residing in or traveling to an area where there is a risk of yellow fever.

Yellow fever vaccine is given to protect a person against the disease, as well as to protect against the spread of the disease among unimmunized people. Under the IHR, countries can require travelers to show proof of yellow fever vaccination, to prevent importation and transmission of yellow fever virus.

Despite the recent announcement from WHO, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) still recommends a booster dose of yellow fever vaccine every 10 years for US travelers to areas with yellow fever risk.

 

The time frame for ACIP to consider this issue is unknown. In addition, the IHR remain unchanged and still require a yellow fever vaccine booster dose every 10 years.

 

Travelers who do not have proof of yellow fever vaccination within the past 10 years may be denied entry into a country with an entry requirement.

 

Recommendations for Yellow Fever Vaccine Use

 

Health care providers should make an individual risk assessment for each traveler for whom yellow fever vaccination is being considered, weighing the traveler’s risk for exposure to yellow fever virus, his or her risk factors for adverse events to the vaccine, and any entry requirements of the countries the traveler plans to visit.

 

Source: CDC / Yellow Fever vaccine booster

Yellow fever 'kills 80' in Sudan refugee camps

By MOHAMMED AMIN in Khartoum | Thursday, July 18   2013 at  19:33

Yellow fever disease has reportedly killed 80 people in refugee camps in Sudan's Blue Nile region.

The camps are the homes to people fleeing the fighting between the Khartoum government forces and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) North rebels.

A food security officer in the region, Mr Simawi Adlan told Tamzog, a local radio, that yellow fever outbreak had been reported at Doro and Batil camps on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia. “Around 80 people died because of this disease, just last June,'' he confirmed.

Mr Adlan attributed the cause to pollution and unsanitary conditions in the camps.

He warned of a more serious health disaster in the camps, urging aid organisations to provide latrines for the refugees.
The government of Sudan has been battling SPLM\North in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since June 2011.

Khartoum has denied international humanitarian organisations access to the affected areas since the eruption of the war.

Source