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Understanding Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne acute viral haemorrhagic disease which is caused by the yellow fever virus. The majority of the infected persons are asymptomatic or have only mild illness. Symptoms include
- fever,
- chills,
- headache,
- muscle aches,
- joint aches,
- loss of appetite and
- nausea or vomiting.
Symptoms usually develop within three to six days after the mosquito bite. Recovery from yellow fever infection results in lifelong immunity. A small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those with severe disease die within seven to 10 days.
How is Yellow Fever Transmitted
Yellow fever is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, similar to dengue and Zika virus. Although there are no reported cases of yellow fever in Singapore, any importation of the disease could result in the disease taking root here due to the presence of the Aedes mosquito vector.
Treatment of Yellow Fever
There is no specific treatment for yellow fever. Treatment is mainly supportive.
How to Prevent Yellow Fever
Vaccination is an effective preventive measure against yellow fever. A single dose of the yellow fever vaccine confers lifelong protection against the disease 10 days after vaccination. A booster dose is not required. Please ask your doctor to review your suitability for the yellow fever vaccine. For persons who are unable to get vaccinated, taking precautions against mosquito-bites can provide some protection. These include: staying in well-screened or air-conditioned areas, wearing clothes that cover most of your body, using an effective insect repellent, such as those containing DEET or Picaridin.
Yellow Fever Vaccination Requirement to Enter Singapore
To protect against the risk of importation and transmission of yellow fever in Singapore, all travellers, including Singapore residents, with travel history to countries with risk of yellow fever transmission (i.e. wholly or partly endemic for yellow fever) in the six days prior to arrival in Singapore are required to have a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate and present it to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at the immigration counter upon arrival to Singapore.
Travellers without a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate (including those who are ineligible to receive the vaccination e.g. children aged 1 year old and below and individuals with contraindications), are liable to be quarantined under Section 31 of the Infectious Disease Act, for up to six days upon arrival in Singapore. Non-residents who refuse quarantine will be turned away and returned to his/her place of origin or last port of embarkation.The International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever is only considered valid 10 days after vaccination and the validity lasts for the life of the person vaccinated.
Countries with risk of yellow fever transmission in whole or in part, correct as of 18 November 2022
| Africa | Latin America |
| Angola | Guinea | Argentina |
| Benin | Guinea-Bissau | Bolivia |
| Burkina Faso | Kenya | Brazil |
| Burundi | Liberia | Colombia |
| Cameroon | Mali | Ecuador |
| Central African Republic | Mauritania | French Guiana |
| Chad | Niger | Guyana |
| Congo | Nigeria | Panama |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Senegal | Paraguay |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Sierra Leone | Peru |
| Equatorial Guinea | Sudan | Suriname |
| Ethiopia | South Sudan | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Gabon | Togo | Venezuela |
| Gambia | Uganda | |
| Ghana | | |
Where to Get the Vaccine
Yellow fever vaccination is available at more than 100 GP clinics in Singapore, as well as travel health clinics at public and private hospitals. The list of clinics that provide yellow fever vaccination can be found at http://hcidirectory.sg/hcidirectory/. Please call the clinic to check for vaccine stocks before going down to the clinic.