jaydubbs15

My fiance and I were considering going to South Africa for our honeymoon, but now she's been scared off by all of the vaccines and medication the CDC site recommends.

I know we could restrict our safaris to the non-malarial areas, but still the precautionary medication has her spooked (we plan to start a family soon and she's concerned.)

Does anyone have any advice and insightful information to provide? Thanks!

Jay

ArthurSA

To put things in perspective, the CDC site (which when I last looked lumps S.A. with several other Southern African countries), says don't drink the tap water, don't use ice cubes, etc. Which is absolute nonsense.

The only medication required would (as you say) be for the very small part of the country (such as Kruger) that is malaria endemic. Even there, most South Africans don't bother with this from about June to September, as per the guidelines here: http://www.malaria.org.za/Malaria_Ri.../risk_maps.htm. (There's lots of other malaria info on that site, take a look at the doc link above that map.) Not that I'm necessarily recommending that, I get my medical info from the TV shows Grey's Anatomy and House.

You will require a Yellow Fever certificate, but only if you are travelling from a country that has that.

ArthurSA

And again without looking at the CDC site, I suspect they recommend being dosed for the likes of hepatitis and rabies. Some would say that this kind of advice is good for travellers in many parts of the World. And I suppose that's a risk call, even if that risk is infinitesimally small. But locals don't use such medication, nor do I expect most visitors.

ArthurSA

Have just remembered. Without doing any research for up-to-date info, I presume there will be some rivers (more likely stagnant ponds) where you could catch bilharzia. Which I hear is not pleasant. Although despite the fact that my father was a health orderly during WW2 and had he realised would have barred me from attending, I spent many a happy Boy Scout camp in Kwazulu-Natal's Kloof Gorge, where a major attraction at our camp site was just jumping from a tethered rope into just such a pond. It was only in later times that I heard that it opined that it was a miracle that none of us caught it. Bilharzia, not the rope.

Anyway, I presume you aren't planning to swim in stagnant or slow-flowing untreated waters?

gail

On CDC site for some countries, the long list of immunization recommendations includes things that are generally recommended for US residents not even leaving US - like tetanus, Hepatitis A and B - that many in US are not up to date on anyway.

If you receive your primary medical care in US from a large MD group, they often have someone, MD, NP or RN designated as the travel expert. They often rely on websites other than CDC for list of immunizations and medications for various countries - so check with your own primary health provider before you assume you need a million shots.

africnow

Since your fiancee's fears seem to be based on the possible danger to the as yet unformed fetus I would suggest that she contact a gynecologist or pediatrician and get advice from the most reliable source.

sundowner

I’m taking my children (9 & 11) to MalaMala in June. It’s located right outside Krueger, a malaria area. I want to take all sensible precautions with them so I faxed a copy of the immunizations recommended by the CDC to their pediatrician. I also faxed over a country map of RSA that showed the risk of malaria in each area of the country. I marked the camp on the map. And then I told him what the weather will be (temperature ranges) while we are there (winter) and described what I’ve experienced there before (2 or 3 mosquitoes only). I also told him we wouldn’t be eating food from street vendors (which some of the recommended immunizations are for) and that we were staying in camps that have been in business for x number of years with visitors from all over the world that will not take chances on ruining their reputation with bad food or water. His response was that the children already have had the immunizations that he would recommend. As for the antimalarials, he said taking them would be the most foolproof method but taking into consideration the time of year we are going and the fact that we will use insect repellant, the risk is very, very low and he’ll let us decide.

My experience is that the first time I went to Africa, I went to the international travel section of our county health department. They recommended every immunization on the CDC list plus yellow fever. Yellow fever isn’t even suggested for where I was going in South Africa and Namibia! I had no idea what to expect in Africa(I hadn’t found Fodors yet) so I got all the shots. Big expense. If I had to do it over again I would do the Hep A & B (which is now required of school age children) and tetanus (a booster every 10 years is recommended I think) and antimalarials depending on where I’m going and when.

You will have to decide (with your doctor) what is best for you. The reason I gave the doctor so much extra information is because most people haven’t been to Africa and they have their own image of what it is and it’s not always correct.

Here is a link to the malaria risk map I used http://www.malaria.org.za/Malaria_Ri.../risk_maps.htm

Hopefully, your fiancé will realize that you don’t need too many shots and that it’s so worth it for such a great honeymoon destination.

jaydubbs15

Thank you all for the great recommendations! I will refer my fiance to your responses and hopefully she will reconsider.

Jay

Pumbavu

Again this is really not the place for sound medical advice. You need to talk to a specialist. If you're trying to start a family you need to be extra cautious. Side effects of medication etc... but then the effects of Malaria are not great... and the medicine you'd need to take to fight it.

She shouldn't be scared... just ake advice, like how long after coming off malaria treatments is considered safe to start a family. It may be weeks... it may be a few months!

A specialist is what you need!

jaydubbs15

Thank you Simon!

withkids

Wow, this is very interesting. As we will be traveling during August, we may not need malaria medicines.


Travel experts will definitely recommend it, as it is on the CDC website.

Are there any Travel Medicine experts out there?

Thanks!

lovetodiscover

Couldn't figure out how to delete my draft posts - so there are at least 3 in a row from me.

IMO, prevention is a small price to pay for staying healthy - where we actually have control.

lovetodiscover

So, the drafts didn't post. Here's my message:

Not a medical doctor or in medical field myself, but doing research for my safari as well. Found some links and information on vaccines that you may or may not have already seen.

Although little is "required" in way of vaccines (Yellow Fever exception), certainly do not intend to travel and not take precautions. So - it depends on how much risk you want to bear for your own health care and recognizing the immunizations can be expensive as well, costing into the hundreds of dollars if you don't have routine travel vaccines already. Small cost to pay for your health, all things in perspective.

Attached is a link to file from World Health Organization (WHO) with detail regarding each type of risk and exposure. It does talk about pregnancy and risks associated. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publication...0364_chap6.pdf

Here's link to WHO directly: http://www.who.int/en/

And another one for travel warnings where I surfed to get the links above. http://travel.state.gov/index.html

Actually, I was surprised to meningitis might be a risk in December in E. Africa.

ALadyNCal

After reviewing the recommendations + talking to our GP, we ended up with a tetanus and Hep A shot, as well as a prescription for malaria meds. I think being there in June minimizes our risks, but will still take the meds to be cautious.

lovetodiscover

Thanks ALadyNCal.
Has anyone chosen to get the meningitis (think it's meningococcal vaccine) or pre-exposure Rabies? Yes, even saw rabies brought up.
Well after reading the posts about the Lion and Leopard attacks...maybe it's not such a crazy idea to get the rabies shots.

gail

The meningitis vaccine is given routinely to pre-college age students in US - some HS boarding schools and colleges even require it - it is not some weird vaccine. I believe immunity only lasts 6-8 years. The form of meningitis it protects you from is spread the same way as colds and can kill you quickly, even with medical care. (I was also surprised it was recommended)

divewop

lovetodiscover-
I've had the meningococcal vaccine along with Heps A & B, and a series of others, prior to being able to interact with the chimps on Ngamba Island. It is a requirement.

No rabies shot as of yet. Many who deal with wild animals as caretakers on a medical level, here and abroad, do get it mostly as a preventative.

cybor

Not a med. expert by any means just a nurse, but I would tend to agree that unless one is working or in direct contact with possibly infected animals, one would not need a pre rabies vac.

I would imagine that if you are unfortunate enough to be attached by a lion or such, that contracting rabies would be the least of your worries unless you've got the (lion deflector Jacket on) .

Talk to a travel doc. for the best and most up to date info.
My 2 cents;
Sherry

lovetodiscover

Thanks for the feedback. Hmmm, now need to decide level of protection.

Have we scared of Jay and his fiance? Jay is Africa still an option for your honeymoon?

jaydubbs15

I personally am not scared off, but I am still working on Robin, who spent 6 months in Russia while in college, came home with a parasite that took its toll on her for over a year so she's a bit cautious as a result. Where can I find a travel doc expert? Is that what they're known as? I never heard of one.