Yellow fever
If you are planning to travel to an area where you may be at risk of yellow fever, make sure you are vaccinatedbefore making your trip.
The yellow fever vaccine is given as a single injection.
You should be vaccinated at least 10 days before you travel, as this will allow enough time for your body to develop protection against the yellow fever infection. Your proof of vaccination certificate (see below) will only become valid after this time.
The vaccination provides protection for 95-100% of those who have it. This protection lasts at least 10 years and may even be life-long.
Booster doses of the yellow fever vaccine used to be recommended every 10 years for everyone planning another visit to an area where the infection is found.
However, experts working for the World Health Organization (WHO) recently suggested that booster doses may not be necessary. Since July 2016, vaccination certificates have been valid for life (they previously expired after 10 years).
For the time being, booster doses are only recommended if you are travelling to an at-risk area, you were last vaccinated more than 10 years ago, and:
Your local designated yellow fever vaccination centre (see below) should be able to advise you if youre not sure whether you need to have a booster vaccination before travelling.
Yellow fever vaccinations can only be given at designated centres. For a centre to become a designated yellow fever vaccination centre, it must register with the appropriate authority. In the UK, this is either:
Find your nearest yellow fever vaccination centre .
The vaccination is not usually available for free on the NHS, so you will normally have to pay for it. On average, a single vaccination costs around 60.
Under regulations set out by the WHO, anyone travelling to a country or area where there is a risk of picking up or spreading the virus that causes yellow fever must have an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP).
You can find a list of all the countries that require you to have an ICVP (PDF, 436kb) on the WHO website. You can also search the destination information onthe NHS Fit for Travelwebsite to find out whether the places you are visiting require an ICVP. An ICVP is not required for entry into the UK.
If you lose your certificate, you may be able to get another one reissued as long as you have details of the vaccination batch number and the date you had the vaccination.
Some people may be advised not to have the yellow fever vaccine because of the risk of potential side effects or complications.
This includes:
If the yellow fever vaccination is not advised, you may be issued with an exemption letter, which may be accepted by immigration authorities.
If you have not been vaccinated, you will need to take particular care to prevent mosquito bites while travelling for example, by using insect repellent and mosquito nets.
Up to one in every three people experience mild side effects after having the yellow fever vaccine, such as:
Reactions at the injection site usually occur one to five days after being vaccinated. The other side effects may last for up to two weeks.
There are also some very rare, but potentially serious,side effectsthat can occur, including:
The risk of YEL-AND and YEL-AVDis higher in young babies and elderly people, which is why vaccination is not always recommendedfor these groups.
Yellow fever is a serious viral infection that is usually spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It can be prevented with a vaccination.
If you are planning to travel to an area where you may be at risk of yellow fever, make sure you are vaccinated before making your trip.