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Yellow Fever: Museveni orders vaccination of all Kenyans entering Uganda


President Yoweri Museveni’s government has ordered its health officials to ensure all Kenyans entering the country have undergone mandatory vaccination against Yellow Fever.

Uganda’s Health Ministry ranked Kenya as a high risk country alongside Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

“All persons entering Uganda must have a Yellow Fever card. In case they do not have these cards, we have instructed the airports authority to ensure that they are vaccinated and possibly kept in isolation in our isolation centre in Entebbe until after 10 days,” said the health ministry spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte.

No cases have been reported so far of Kenyans denied entry into Uganda for lack of a Yellow Fever vaccination card.

The directive has since been termed as an overreaction, considering Uganda is Kenyan biggest trading partner.

Kenya has reported to two suspected cases of Yellow Fever this month. Both cases involved Kenyans returning from Angola where more than 250 people have died of the disease.

The first case resulted in the death of a 31-year-old man who was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) .

The patient in the second case is “recuperating at home” in Nairobi’s South C area. The 30-year-old man has been on treatment for about a week.

Director of Medical Services Jack Kioko told the Nation: “He is doing quite well and no other suspected cases reported since then.”

Kenya has also said it will deny exit or entry to Kenyans or foreigners from any yellow fever prone areas without a vaccination certificate.

The World Health Organization raised a red flag on 42 countries worldwide.