The Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) has started the vaccination drive for Yellow Fever in its annexe hospital Dhirenpara First Referral Unit (FRU) in Guwahati.

It will be available on all working days during OPD hours from 8 am to 2 pm, an official notification by the Superintendent of GMCH stated.

It further informed that no prior registration is required for getting the vaccine shot and the certificate for the same will be delivered immediately.

Acknowledging the same, the Dhirenpara FRU of the GMCH informed that they have procured the vaccine at quotation approved rate and is now available for public.

Though the virus has never emerged in Asia, it is considered vulnerable for the potential introduction of the virus. The reason behind this is the vector mosquito for yellow fever, Aedes Aegypti, which is already present in Asia, including the northeast, doctors said.

Yellow fever, a viral disease caused by an arbovirus and the mosquito is the primary vector. It is spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito.

According to doctors, there has been a surge in the number of cases over the past two decades due to declining immunity to infection, deforestation, urbanization, population movements and climate change.