Latest update (Dec 2011) - WHO detects new Yellow Fever cases in Senegal !

The Ministry of Health in Senegal notified the WHO of three cases of yellow fever in Kédougou and Saraya Health districts, near the border with Mali and Guinea Conakry on 26 October 2011.

The index case was a 25 year-old female who developed symptoms of fever, headache and vomiting, with no history of yellow fever vaccination. She consulted the health military post of Kédougou on 23 July 2011. The case was detected as part of a surveillance project for dengue and chikungunya conducted in the region. The WHO reference laboratory for Yellow Fever at the Institut Pasteur in Dakar confirmed the case (IgM by ELISA test and Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test or PRNT) on 10 October 2011.

Two other cases - 29 year-old female and 3 year-old male - were reported on 10 and 11 August 2011. All three cases have fully recovered. An outbreak investigation team assessed the situation in the Kédougou and Saraya districts from 8 to 29 August 2011, where a total of 76 people (suspected cases and their contacts, including 10 deaths) were identified. Laboratory tests conducted showed no evidence of recent yellow fever infection among the 76 people. However, the tests (IgG) indicated that 20 of them had previously been exposed to yellow fever virus or yellow fever vaccine.

The health districts of Kédougou and Saraya benefited from a preventive mass vaccination campaign in December 2007, where the vaccination coverage was 94.9% and 94.8% respectively.

The Ministry of Health of Senegal plans to organize a vaccination campaign in mid-December 2011, targeting the non-vaccinated individuals aged nine months and above, excluding pregnant women in Kédougou, Saraya and Salémata health districts. The mass vaccination campaign aims to protect the susceptible population living in the area, which appears to have increased due to recent migration from neighboring countries. A total of 159,626 doses of vaccine from the GAVI-funded yellow fever emergency vaccine stockpile has been released by the International Coordinating Group on Yellow Fever Vaccine Provision (YF-ICG) for the campaign.
Source

Now a comprehensive website for Yellow fever vaccination in India !

Finally, we have managed to launch the first and only comprehensive website providing all the relevant information on yellow fever disease & its vaccination in India at www.yellowfevervaccine.in 
This website has a large amount of information about Yellow fever disease and its vaccination, including symptoms and complications of the disease, list of centers providing the vaccine in India, advantages of vaccination in private center, contraindications for not taking the vaccines, potential precautions for taking the vaccine, contact information for Charak Clinics - the leading private vaccination center for yellow fever vaccination in India, and certificates, testimonials and FAQs, and lots more ! All in an easy to understand, comprehensive website.
We would love to have your feedback and suggestions regarding the same.
Write to us regarding the website, or for any more information at drgaurav-at-charakclinics.com.

Can people with Egg Allergy take the Yellow Fever Vaccine ?

Yellow fever vaccines are required to visit some tropical countries. However, the vaccine is cultured in eggs.

Last week I had two people who claimed to be "allergic to eggs" and had been refused vaccination by the Government Vaccination Center/ other private centers.

They wanted to know if they could safely take the vaccine for personal protection as well as the embassy regulations of African / South American countries.

On careful history taking it became apparent that both did not suffer from true egg allergy. They complained of abdominal bloating/ gassiness/ mild stomach upset if they ate eggs.

This is not a contra-indication for the Yellow Fever Vaccine.

The latest clinical guidelines for food allergies caution against administering the yellow fever vaccines to patients with a history of severe allergic reactions to eggs or chicken. If you have a history of any of the following reactions to egg, you should avoid the yellow fever vaccine:

• Hives (Chapake in Hindi)
• Angioedema (Swelling over the face/ body)
• Allergic asthma
• Anaphylaxis (Severe reaction leading to injections/ hospitalization)

If you have had a less severe reaction to eggs, or chicken you can probably tolerate the yellow fever vaccine.

If you plan to travel to a region where yellow fever is a problem, it is possible to have allergy testing done with the vaccine itself to determine if it would be possible for you to tolerate it. Any attempt to try the vaccine should be done in a medical setting that can care for any potential reactions.

If testing determines that you have a potential for severe reaction to the vaccine, or if your doctor determines that it is not safe for you given your history of reactions, it is possible to get a medical waiver that will allow you to visit countries that require the yellow fever vaccination for entry.

In our case, since there was no contra-indication, we gave these people a test dose intradermally, and once there was no reaction to the test dose, after half hour we gave them the complete dose without any side-effects.

Finally, it is important to remember that getting a waiver is difficult since you would need to "prove" that you are allergic to egg with further blood / skin testing and then attach this report along with the waiver letter from your doctor. Otherwise your waiver certificate may not be accepted by the Embassy.

Hence I would recommend getting a proper history before labeling someone as "allergic to eggs" and denying them the Yellow Fever Vaccine.

Read more here

http://foodallergies.about.com/od/eggallergies/f/egg-allergy-yellow-fever-vaccine.htm

http://allergies.about.com/od/medicationallergies/a/vaccinesfoods.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001620.htm

Here is the latest CDC recommendation regarding egg allergy with Yellow Fever Vaccination:

If international travel regulations are the only reason to vaccinate a patient hypersensitive to eggs, efforts should be made to obtain a waiver. A physician's letter stating the contraindication to vaccination has been acceptable to some governments. (Ideally, it should be written on letterhead stationary and bear the stamp used by health department and official immunization centers to validate the International Certificate of Vaccination.) Under these conditions, the traveler should also obtain specific and authoritative advice from the embassy or consulate of the country or countries s/he plans to visit. Waivers of requirements obtained from embassies or consulates should be documented by appropriate letters and retained for presentation with the International Health Certificate. If vaccination of an individual with a questionable history of egg hypersensitivity is considered essential because of a high risk of exposure, an intradermal test dose may be administered under close medical supervision. Specific directions for skin testing are found in the package insert.

And now we are the first & only Hospital in Punjab to be on IAMAT !

Congratulations are in order.

Charak Clinics has created history by being the sole authorized center in Punjab to affiliated to International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers

Now in addition to providing Yellow Fever Vaccination for travelers from North India to African and South American countries, we are providing medical assistance to Travelers from all over the world visiting Punjab and North India.

You can see our profile (after logging in to the IAMAT website) here .

This will further help assure prospective customers for Yellow Fever Vaccination, and travelers, about our highest standard of Immunization and Medical Care.