Demand for yellow fever vaccine plunges over Ebola scare

Widespread fear of Ebola in African countries has resulted in few people optingto visit those places, thereby reducing the demand for yellow fever vaccinationin the city.

According to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials, around 1,200 people used to visit AMC-run hospitals to get vaccinated against yellow fever every year normally before embarking on a trip to any African nation either for business or leisure. As per rules, it is mandatory for anyone above nine months of age to get vaccinated against yellow fever before visiting any African country.

However, since July, the number of people getting vaccinated has gone down by 200 to 300. AMC officials said the Ebola outbreak in the four West African countries has had an impact on the number of people visiting the continent.

In fact, August saw the demand plummet further by 25%. In July, 736 people sought vaccination for yellow fever, whereas, only 550 have so far been vaccinated this month. “The hype over Ebola has spread fear due to which people are avoiding any visit to Africa. Thus, the dip in the number for yellow fever vaccination,” said Amit Begda, superintendent of vaccination at AMC. Begda added that compared to previous years, the demand for the vaccination in July-August — when it is usually high — was less. According to the official website of WHO, yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. It can be passed to humans if an infected mosquito bites. And, there is no cure for this. “There are an estimated 2 lakh cases of yellow fever causing 30,000 deaths worldwide every year. Nearly 90% of it occurs in Africa,” stated the website.

Ebola, which has killed over 1,200 people in West Africa, was declared as an international health emergency by WHO in August. While it is mandatory to get vaccinated before visiting Africa, those arriving in Asia from Africa must have a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever.

Even travel agents acknowledge that. Mahendra Vakharia, a travel agent at Pathfinders, said: “Despite the fact that the Ebola outbreak is limited to West Africa, most tourists do not wish to visit Africa. In fact, Gujaratis, working in African countries, have also delayed their plans to return.”