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TICAL is not too distant and it’s time to review everything to ensure that the trip to San José will be the best possible. One of the most relevant questions is: is it necessary to have the yellow fever vaccine to travel to Costa Rica? And the answer is probably yes.

If you will be traveling to Costa Rica from South America and/or sub-Saharan Africa, you will need the YELLOW FEVER VACCINE. The countries considered at risk are: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso,Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria,Sierra Leone, Sudan, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana and Venezuela. You can travel to Costa Rica ten days after the shot. Any individual traveling to Costa Rica that has been in transit, whether in airports, sea ports, or land borders, in the following countries, will require a vaccination: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

There are some exceptions. Any individual traveling to Costa Rica that has been in transit through: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and French Guyana, whether in airports, sea ports or land borders, will be exempt from the requirement of vaccination against yellow fever.

The exception list also includes:

• People who have been in countries considered at risk, but who have remained at least six days in a non-risk country before entering Costa Rican territory and who haven’t developed the yellow fever.
• People with contraindications for the vaccination against yellow fever who carry a valid medical opinion supported by the health authority in the country from where they are from.
• Children under 9 months old, people with severe allergy to eggs, immunosuppression and thymic disease present or in their medical history.
• There must be a medical assessment of the pros and cons of vaccination on people with the following conditions: over 60 years of age, pregnancy, lactation, family history of adverse events associated with vaccination against yellow fever, hypersensitivity to gelatin and asymptomatic HIV infection, with laboratory verification of adequate immune system function.

If you come from one of the countries listed at the beginning of this note, please look for a health center where to take the vaccine. TICAL 2017 will be held between July 3 and 5, 2017, at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. All the necessary information about the Conference, its program, the list of recommended hotels, plus access to the other two events, are available at: http://tical2017.redclara.net/.