Colombia has declared a national health and economic emergency in response to a deadly outbreak of yellow fever, urging citizens to get vaccinated and take extra precautions, particularly while traveling during the Easter holiday.
The mosquito-borne virus, which causes symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, nausea, and headaches, is endemic in several South American countries, including Colombia. However, the current outbreak has shown an unusually high mortality rate. Since the beginning of the year, 74 cases have been confirmed, with 34 deaths, Health Minister Guillermo Jaramillo said Wednesday in an interview with Radio Nacional de Colombia.
“This disease has a mortality rate approaching 50% among those infected,” Jaramillo said, noting that the virus has begun spreading beyond the rural regions where it is typically found, posing a broader threat to communities across the country.
The Tolima region—part of Colombia’s key coffee-growing zone—has been hit hardest. The number of confirmed cases there surged from just four in September 2024 to 22 by mid-April, according to Jaramillo.
To help contain the outbreak, the government will now require proof of yellow fever vaccination for anyone entering or leaving the country. “We are going to require the carrying of the vaccination card,” Jaramillo said.
President Gustavo Petro, who also declared an economic emergency in addition to the health decree, took to Facebook to urge Colombians to get vaccinated and avoid high-risk regions, especially during Easter. “Those who haven’t been vaccinated should stay away from affected areas for now—particularly the coffee zone,” he warned.
Petro attributed the outbreak’s expansion to climate change, which he said is enabling the Aedes aegypti mosquito—the primary vector for yellow fever—to thrive at higher altitudes than in the past.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised its yellow fever alert for South America to level two on its four-level scale. The CDC cited a rise in reported cases in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, and recommended that travelers to affected areas consider getting vaccinated or receive booster shots before departure.
