Redaction. The authorities of the tourism sector are promoting a proposal to eliminate the mandatory nature of the vaccine against yellow fever as a requirement to enter Honduras, since, according to what they said, the measure is affecting the country’s tourism competitiveness.
According to representatives of the sector, the requirement limits the flow of foreign tourists, especially those from regions where the vaccine is not mandatory. The Ministry of Tourism has held preliminary meetings with the Minister of Health, Karla Paredes, with the aim of establishing a dialogue table in which the possibilities of eliminating this requirement are discussed.
The vice minister of TurismoReizel Vilorio, declared on the subject to TN5: “We have already had conversations with the Minister of Health so that we can have a table at which we talk about the possibilities of eliminating this requirement.”
Reizel Vilorio, Vice Minister of Tourism.
Tourism authorities point out that withdrawing the requirement would help increase the number of visitors and, therefore, strengthen the economy of the sector.
See also: Vaccines against dengue arrive in Honduras next week
Health risk
Epidemiology experts are not entirely convinced with the implementation of this measure, ensuring that it threatens the health of the Honduran population. Tito Alvarado, a renowned infectious disease specialist, expressed concern about the possible consequences of suspending this requirement.
«Those who pass through Honduras not only bring yellow fever, they bring dengue, etc. “That cannot be controlled,” Alvarado said, warning that eliminating the vaccine as a requirement could trigger outbreaks of vector-borne diseases.
Tito Alvarado, infectious disease specialist.
For the specialist, if a tourist enters the country without knowing that he is infected with yellow fever, an epidemic could be unleashed due to the presence of the transmitting mosquito. “It is not advisable that the recommendations of the Ministry of Health be transgressed due to economic pressures,” he stated.