Kenya has been pushing to be removed from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) yellow fever endemic zone red list, seeking to boost tourism revenues from cruise ships on the Indian Ocean circuit.

Tanzania has been reaping from the cruise business, having been spared the red list, and Kenyan players in the tourism sector say the most cruise visitors can stay on its shores is 48 hours.

John Mbenga, a Mombasa tour guide, said whenever a tourist stays past 48 hours, they have to be vaccinated or quarantined at the next stop.

Yellow fever is an epidemic-prone mosquito-borne vaccine preventable disease caused by an arbovirus transmitted to humans by the bites of infected Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes.

Tanzania is the only port state in East Africa that has escaped the yellow fever endemic zone tag, thanks to measures it has put to contain the disease as per the WHO guidelines. As a result, cruise ships can stay days in its ports benefiting local businesses.

A cruise ship, MV Crystal Symphony from Mahe, Seychelles, is expected in Mombasa with 1,169 passengers and crew this week as cruise season comes to an end.

The next cruise season begins later in September.

But the WHO says that between January 12 and March 15, 2022, 53 suspected yellow fever cases and six deaths had been reported in Isiolo County in Northern Kenya.“We want to have a discussion and look at the history of yellow fever, see how many cases have ever been recorded… We want to look at the regulations and see what we can propose without compromising anyone’s health,” the minister said.

Last year, Kenya received seven cruise ships with 7,000 passengers.

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