Colombia has declared a public health emergency following a rapidly escalating outbreak of yellow fever that has claimed dozens of lives across several regions, the country’s Ministry of Health announced yesterday.
Since September 2024, health officials have recorded 75 confirmed cases, including 34 fatalities, resulting in a staggering case-fatality rate of 45.3%. The outbreak has impacted nine departments, with the majority of cases and deaths reported in Tolima, located in the Andean region of west-central Colombia.
In a public statement, the Health Ministry strongly urged all individuals aged 9 months and older to receive the yellow fever vaccine, emphasizing it as the most critical defense against the deadly virus.
“The outbreak has shown progressive expansion, especially in areas of the Amazon basin, the Magdalena River, and departments such as Meta, in a short period of time,” the statement read.
Alarmingly, cases have also emerged in territories where yellow fever had not historically been reported, including Neira in the coffee-producing region of Caldas. This unexpected geographic spread has raised serious concerns about the virus reaching more densely populated urban areas.
While urban transmission of yellow fever in Colombia hasn’t occurred since 1929, recent detections in populated zones and city outskirts have highlighted the growing risk of urban resurgence.
To mitigate the spread, the Colombian government mobilized vaccination brigades to affected regions as early as September. These teams continue to administer vaccines and monitor for new infections, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
The situation has drawn international concern. In late March, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiologic alert warning of rising yellow fever cases in several South American nations, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
Adding to the urgency, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2 travel advisory earlier this week for travelers heading to South America, urging them to take enhanced precautions.
With the virus spreading to unfamiliar territories and mortality rates alarmingly high, health officials in Colombia and across the Americas are racing to prevent the outbreak from spiraling into a larger regional crisis.
