Yellow fever vaccine and concerns on a Panama Canal cruise

We are prepping for our January departure for the 15 day Panama Canal cruise on board the Rotterdam. Is the vaccine for Yellow Fever necessary??

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Commonly discussed on the Panama Canal board. The answer is no.

No -- you do not need a yellow fever shot for the Panama Canal cruise.

But do make certain that you tetanus, flu and pneumonia shots are up to date.

And do take Deet along with you.

We have done the Panama Canal cruise four times and never required a yellow fever vaccination.

We did get the Twinrex shots for hepatitis when we started cruising in the Caribbean area though. They are not a requirement but are a good idea.

We are prepping for our January departure for the 15 day Panama Canal cruise on board the Rotterdam. Is the vaccine for Yellow Fever necessary??

 

 

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Unless your going into the deep jungle. No vaccines of any kind required.

I always make sure that our Tetanus and Hepatitis shots are up to date.

Your doctor or travel clinic is the best bet for medical advice, but I'll chime in with the others above since we'll be leaving in January for a full transit of the Canal, and recently visited our travel clinic about this trip (after first also reading the CDC web site for the places we are visiting). As others have said, there are no required immunizations for the ports and typical tourist areas, but a number are recommended, including Hep A. (Hep A is so prevalent now in the world, including in the USA, that's it not a bad idea to be immunized regardless.) Our travel doctor also recommend (as does the CDC) typhoid immunization, and so we got that shot.

The doctor also recommended malaria prophylaxis pills (Malarone) because the maps show that two of our ports (in Nicaragua and Guatemala) are in areas of malaria risk, but since the CDC says the risk for US travelers is low, and we won't be there at night, and considering the potential side effects, I'm not sure we're going to take those pills....

We are taking plenty of mosquito repellent (Picaridin, an alternative to DEET).

Was on the full canal transit last March, and never worried, Did not get off the ship, so it was not really an issue.

If you go deep jungle exploring then that is another matter :)

The answer is NO!

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We had a long discussion about yellow fever shots for the Amazon cruises a few months ago, and at that time the issue was very much in flux - both with Brazil, the CDC and HAL. Best to go beyond advice here and confirm it with those who can have the final answer.

Others presented stories about passengers not being able to board the ship without the shot, other saying passengers were not able to disembark without evidence of the shot prior to visiting YF areas. Then CDC changed their requirements saying one shot is good for life, while HAL was telling us it had to be in the last 10 years.

We cancelled our last minute Amazon reservations on the Prinsendam due to Brazil visa hurdles and all this YF confusion. And hope it has all settled out finally before we try it again. And Brazil gets a little more friendly about their visas.

The only good thing for me was I actually found my old YF certificate from 1969 - which now is good again. So that part of it is at least out of the way. And yes, there were also stories about no one even asking for YF proof, even after making sure they got the shots as 'required" at that time.

We had a long discussion about yellow fever shots for the Amazon cruises a few months ago, and at that time the issue was very much in flux - both with Brazil, the CDC and HAL. Best to go beyond advice here and confirm it with those who can have the final answer.

 

Others presented stories about passengers not being able to board the ship without the shot, other saying passengers were not able to disembark without evidence of the shot prior to visiting YF areas. Then CDC changed their requirements saying one shot is good for life, while HAL was telling us it had to be in the last 10 years.

 

We cancelled our last minute Amazon reservations on the Prinsendam due to Brazil visa hurdles and all this YF confusion. And hope it has all settled out finally before we try it again. And Brazil gets a little more friendly about their visas.

 

The only good thing for me was I actually found my old YF certificate from 1969 - which now is good again. So that part of it is at least out of the way. And yes, there were also stories about no one even asking for YF proof, even after making sure they got the shots as 'required" at that time.

The OP is taking a Panama Canal Full Transit. I did read that he was doing the Amazon.

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The OP is taking a Panama Canal Full Transit. I did read that he was doing the Amazon.

 

 

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My error, in haste. Sorry.

Not required or needed IMO - there are only a few countries that require the yellow fever vaccination. Also, have done the Panama Canal several times and the Amazon 3 times and never used anti-malarial pills - and never had a problem. In fact never saw a mosquito in Panama (and they do love my DH who was with me then). We did not go way into the jungles for extended periods of time and always used repellent.

Not required or needed IMO - there are only a few countries that require the yellow fever vaccination. Also, have done the Panama Canal several times and the Amazon 3 times and never used anti-malarial pills - and never had a problem. In fact never saw a mosquito in Panama (and they do love my DH who was with me then). We did not go way into the jungles for extended periods of time and always used repellent.

I was also surprised at the absence of mosquitoes during my Panama Canal transits. I was fully prepared to do battle with the little critters but that didn't happen. My suspicion is that the Canal Zone is regularly fogged to combat the problem.

I was also surprised at the absence of mosquitoes during my Panama Canal transits. I was fully prepared to do battle with the little critters but that didn't happen. My suspicion is that the Canal Zone is regularly fogged to combat the problem.

We watched the fogging truck as we were going through the locks. It was spraying a mist, ringing bells, and driving around the grounds close to the canal. With as much rain as this area gets, there is always the possibility of standing water.

ZIKA was the concern and the captain officially warned about this possible threat, per company policy, when going into each port in this area. Protective clothing and repellent use was advised.

Just saw my DR yesterday and asked him this very question. He said yellow fever vaccination is sometimes prescribed, but given my age (60's) he didn't recommend it.

CDC provides good yellow fever info and travel links on their website:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/diseases/yellow-fever

We are prepping for our January departure for the 15 day Panama Canal cruise on board the Rotterdam. Is the vaccine for Yellow Fever necessary??

 

 

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Anywhere in the Caribbean or Central/South America, the CDC recommends Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A inoculations as they are food and water born pathogens. The Yellow Fever vaccine involves taking pills over a few days. If memory serves me, the Hep A is a couple of shots a few weeks apart. They do not require annual boosters, but you do need re-inoculation a few years down the road.

Anywhere in the Caribbean or Central/South America, the CDC recommends Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A inoculations as they are food and water born pathogens. The Yellow Fever vaccine involves taking pills over a few days. If memory serves me, the Hep A is a couple of shots a few weeks apart. They do not require annual boosters, but you do need re-inoculation a few years down the road.

Wrong in all cases. Yellow Fever is a mosquito borne virus, and the vaccine is an injection. Hep A is two shots, minimum 6 months apart. In Hep A, 15 years is the standard "protected" time frame, some are protected for life. A simple blood test shows if you have anti-bodies.

I would say to check with your doctor - you can see specialist travel vax doctors. I cruised from Fort Lauderdale stopping at Aruba, Costa Rica and Mexico and my Dr who is a travel Vax Dr advised me that I did not need to be vaccinated for anything other than Hep A, He advised if you were stopping on the east side of Costa Rica to talk about Yellow Fever/Malaria but as the West coast doesn't have the mosquito problem/diseases the other side does it wasnt nessisary. All in all if you dont want to get vaccinated for it I would recommend using a repellant that contains DEET and loose fitting clothing. The mosquitos in Costa Rica are HUGE.

Wrong in all cases. Yellow Fever is a mosquito borne virus, and the vaccine is an injection. Hep A is two shots, minimum 6 months apart. In Hep A, 15 years is the standard "protected" time frame, some are protected for life. A simple blood test shows if you have anti-bodies.

You are correct. It's Typhoid not Yellow Fever that the CDC recommends. The Typhoid regimen is like a Prednisone pak - 5,4, 3, 2, 1 per day - or some similar reducing dose over the few days.

The "check with your doctor" remark from another poster is spot on.

You are correct. It's Typhoid not Yellow Fever that the CDC recommends. The Typhoid regimen is like a Prednisone pak - 5,4, 3, 2, 1 per day - or some similar reducing dose over the few days.

The "check with your doctor" remark from another poster is spot on.

You can get typhoid immunization with a simple shot. We just did it. (The other method requires the vaccine to be refrigerated and taken over several days. You could mess things up getting it home from your pharmacy. Our travel doc said she prefers to use the injection because she knows it's been given correctly.)

Anywhere in the Caribbean or Central/South America, the CDC recommends Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A inoculations as they are food and water born pathogens. The Yellow Fever vaccine involves taking pills over a few days. If memory serves me, the Hep A is a couple of shots a few weeks apart. They do not require annual boosters, but you do need re-inoculation a few years down the road.

Agree, CDC is a very good resource and I hope you read it again, because there is a major disconnect with the information you just presented. You may be confusing malaria (quinine pills) with Yellow Fever (vaccination - now good for life)

We are prepping for our January departure for the 15 day Panama Canal cruise on board the Rotterdam. Is the vaccine for Yellow Fever necessary??

 

 

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we just got back from our 15 night through the panama canal. we didnt encounter insects at all, but we did pack repellent. no shots necessary. the only think i brough back was a few gnat bits in puerto chiappas.

Just saw my DR yesterday and asked him this very question. He said yellow fever vaccination is sometimes prescribed, but given my age (60's) he didn't recommend it.

This was the same information shared by our travel clinic physician. I also conferred with our very well informed pharmacist, and he also verified that we ( both well over 60) would not be the best candidates for these shots. He also checked the CDC site, information offered confirmed this.

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This was the same information shared by our travel clinic physician. I also conferred with our very well informed pharmacist, and he also verified that we ( both well over 60) would not be the best candidates for these shots. He also checked the CDC site, information offered confirmed this.

 

 

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Same thing. Our travel doc said that Yellow Fever immunizations can be a problem for people over 60.