Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Yellow fever in Colombia?

Updated · Graded from official assessments; nothing here is medical advice.

Yellow fever in Colombia · elevated

If you are in the affected area no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people in the affected area in Colombia. The official notices for Colombia are listed below, including CDC's 2026-09-18 travel notice.
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people elsewhere in Colombia. The official notices for Colombia are listed below, including CDC's 2026-09-18 travel notice.
If you are travelling there soon moderate
US CDC set its travel notice for Colombia at Level 2 on 2026-09-18, saying an increased number of yellow fever cases have been reported in Colombia. According to US CDC
If you are elsewhere in the world moderate
WHO assessed the global risk from yellow fever as moderate on 2026-06-24. It said yellow fever remains a significant public health threat in regions with historical transmission and that spread into new areas remains possible where immunity is low. According to WHO

What is happening

Yellow fever activity is ongoing in Colombia, especially in Tolima, as part of the wider resurgence in the Americas described by WHO. WHO said Colombia had reported 60 confirmed cases and 24 deaths by 2025-04-26, and 83 confirmed cases and 37 deaths since early 2024, with most 2025 cases in Tolima. In WHO's 2026 global update, Colombia was still the most affected country in the Americas through 2026-05-26. The newest figures available here are from a 2026-09-21 media report citing preliminary Instituto Nacional de Salud data through 2026-09-08: media report 58 confirmed cases, 27 deaths, 1,183 probable cases, and 32 confirmed monkey infections, unverified. Officials describe vaccination as the main control measure, alongside surveillance, laboratory testing, case management, risk communication, and monitoring of animal activity, and CDC posted a Level 2 travel notice for Colombia on 2026-09-18.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease spread by infected day-biting mosquitoes, and WHO says transmission is maintained mainly through mosquito-primate cycles with spillover into people. The current activity described in the sources is largely sylvatic spillover, especially in forested and rural settings. The sources also note a risk of spread into new areas, including urban centres, where competent vectors are present and population immunity is low, and they specifically mention travel by unvaccinated visitors in the Colombia context. Vaccination is described as the primary means of prevention and control.

What officials advise

What we are watching

Updates

Sources