New Nicaragua Yellow Fever requirements

I know these yellow fever questions are always being asked, but wanted to hear from Panama full transit cruisers that have done cruises this February after the below requirements were implemented. As you can see below, the state department notes that Panama is on the list of areas with active yellow fever transmission that Nicaragua would want proof of vaccine if you have been there in the last 6 days. But since the CDC does not recommend or consider the panama canal itself an active transmission zone I am assuming that it would not be required by Nicaragua. Would love to hear from a full transit west bound cruiser that went this February that can confirm that Nicaragua is not requiring proof of yellow fever vaccination if you are coming from the panama canal.

On January 17, 2017 the Government of Nicaragua announced a new requirement for travelers entering Nicaragua from certain countries to present proof of yellow fever vaccination as a condition for being granted entry to Nicaragua. This requirement is in response to a recent yellow fever outbreak in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Effective January 27, 2017, travelers coming from countries designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as places with the potential for active transmission of yellow fever will be required to present an International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever, showing a vaccine given at least 10 days prior, at the Nicaraguan port of entry. Those countries currently include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and all countries located on the African continent with the exception of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia.

The United States is not listed as a country with the potential for active transmission of yellow fever. The new requirement does not impact travelers already in Nicaragua.

Travelers with prior travel to countries with the potential for active transmission of yellow fever will not be required to show proof of a yellow fever vaccine as long as the prior travel to the affected country occurred more than six days prior and the traveler does not show symptoms of yellow fever. Symptoms of yellow fever include sudden onset of fever, chills, severe headache, back pain, general body aches, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and weakness.

Travelers impacted by the new requirement must show an International Certificate of Vaccination as proof of immunization at the port of entry. A World Health Organization (WHO) card (commonly called a “yellow card”) showing proof of immunization is often used by travelers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends or urges precaution against yellow fever vaccinations for pregnant women, children under 9 months of age, breastfeeding mothers, and people with certain other medical conditions. Please refer to the CDC’s website for specific guidance. For those who cannot receive a yellow fever vaccination, the Nicaraguan government requires a letter of medical certification explaining why an exemption is medically justified.

In accordance with CDC guidance, the Government of Nicaragua deems a yellow fever vaccine effective for life.

Additional information about yellow fever is available from the CDC and the WHO.

For further information about security in Nicaragua:

• See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Nicaragua Country Specific Information.
  
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler-Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
  
• Contact the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua, located at Km 5 ½ C. Sur Managua, Nicaragua, at 011-505-2252-7100, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The American Citizen Services unit is also available by email during regular business hours at ACS.Managua@state.gov.
  
• Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
  

While I don't have a direct answer to your question, I suspect that people arriving in Nicaragua on a cruise will be treated as "in transit" and not actually being admitted to the country. As far as I know there have been two ships that have transited the Canal in the time frame you referenced that were scheduled for a stop in Nicaragua. One is the Norwegian Jewel in a late February transit and Island Princess at the beginning of March. Try posting your question on their respective roll calls.

PS... IIRC correctly, reading on another board the Island Princess may have scrubbed the stop in Nicaragua. Don't recall the reason.

Thanks for the info Bill. Went ahead and posted on the Princess and Norwegian forum. I agree with you, I am sure its not an issue, I am just being OCD and wanting verification/reassurance. Those stories about being denied boarding for not having a vaccine is the motivation.

OP: I do not think you should have any problems, and I will tell you why, but I also think you should contact NCL and get that in writing, as we did.

Here's our very recent experience. We were on the NCL Jewel's 16-night westbound Panama Canal cruise, Miami to LA, Jan. 20-Feb. 5, 2017. As it happens, we had a port call in Corinto, Nicaragua, on Jan. 27, the day the new regs you have posted about went into effect. We had no idea about those very new rules, and no issues about not having Yellow Fever immunizations. In fact, I had a question similar to yours before our trip, because Costa Rica already had a proof of Yellow Fever immunization similar to the new Nicaragua regs, and our cruise DID have a port call in a country (Colombia) on the list of countries with risk of Yellow Fever transmission, although the city we were visiting, Cartagena, is not in the Yellow Fever risk area.

I spoke with our travel clinic doctor about this when we went for our other recommended immunizations. She explained that there are two different things going on with Yellow Fever immunizations: 1) medically advised immunizations, and 2) governmentally required immunizations. In our case, we were not going to be visiting any place where it was medically necessary or advisable for us to get YF immunizations. To the contrary, because we are in our 60s and have never had them before, such immunizations would be risky and contraindicated. She gave us letters stating that we were not visiting any places with a risk of YF transmission, and that we could not have the immunizations because of our age.

I was, like you, still concerned about the governmental requirements (though I had done a TON of reading on Cruise Critic about Canal transits and had never read any posts about anyone needing a YF immunization), so I emailed my PCC at NCL. He said he was not aware of any need for a YF immunization on this itinerary; he also checked up the chain and sent me an email confirming that no YF immunization was needed. And indeed it was not.

BTW, no one from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or any other country boarded our ship and asked passengers to provide proof of anything. I truly think cruise ships with a one-day port call are treated differently, as Bill says above.

I would contact NCL and have them confirm you don't need the YF immunization.

And have a great trip!! We did; review with lots of photos here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2456255

Turtle,

thanks for all the great information about your recent Cruise. That gives me some reassurance that it won't be an issue for me. I was originally looking at a westbound cruise that stopped in Colombia and had the same concerns about Costa Rica. We ended up picking Holland Cruise the stops in Aruba instead of Columbia which I figured was even safer since Aruba is not at all in any yellow fever zone. To be on the safe side I will work on getting an email from Holland prior to the cruise.