Innoculations needed for Egypt
 

I will be traveling to Egypt with 2 friends in September. I was told that perhaps we may need to get malarial treatments since we are taking a desert excursion. Can someone please let me know if this is a must or just advisable ? Thanks.

Malaria precautions are not an inoculation, rather a pill that has to be taken for a period of time before you leave for Egypt, while there and upon your return.

Where in the desert will you be traveling? For how long? Where will you be sleeping? Realize that the true desert is cold at night and if cold, you will rarely find any mosquitos.

But you should check the CDC site for inoculation and malaria precautions for Egypt. I believe they suggest malaria meds and the usual Tetanus, Hep-A and Thyphoid inoculations - but check. However, most visitors to Egypt forego the malaria meds if visiting the usual tourist stops in Cairo, along the Nile and the close-in oasis.

Not being a doctor - You should check with your own physician based on your health situation; preferrably a tropical disease specialist and make your decision based on solid information.

Great Timing, cpena, I JUST was at a travel medicine clinic 24 hours ago getting my shots for Egypt.
Luckily, I had a bunch of shots before a 2002 trip to East Africa.
My travel doctor gave me a sheet with the following information:
Malaria: minimal risk exists only in the El Faiyoum area, a location off usual travel itineraries and cruises. Risk is highest from June to October in both P falciparum and P vivax forms.
Take evening and nighttime insect precautions in risk areas. Medicines to protect against malaria are not needed.
Because no preventive measure is 100% effective, if you have traveled to an area of malaria risk, seek immediate medical attention for any fever or flu like illness occuriring witnin 3 months of your return home.
Of course you should check with your own travel care provider.
Honestly, I am more concerned about schistosomisasis (larvae that get into unbroken skin and are found in the Nile) then anything else. But we also had shots for the following (either yesterday or in 2002)
Hep A-B
Polio
Tetanus/Diptheria
Measles Mumps Rubella
Cholora
Typhoid

If you are going to be around a lot of animals you may consider rabies. We usually wear long sleeves at dusk and liberally cover ourselves with DEET.. Yucky!
Have a great trip.

None are required. Just check with your doctor and they'll have a suggestion.

PRchick -

Maybe none are required, but any adult, regardless their ages, who has not been inoculated since childhood should seriously consider updating their earlier inoculations. This holds true whether you are in your home country or traveling out of the country.

Hep-A,B & C - can be gotten anywhere.

Tetanus - anyone can fall and find themselves with an open dirty wound.

Polio - while technically eradicated, there have been outbreaks in many places.

Cholora - the inoculation isn't but about 30% effective and not recommended.

Thyphoid - to be considered though admittedly I've been a bad girl and have never taken the prescribed pills from my physician.

Malaria - in Egypt it isn't a major problem except in certain areas, so this decision has to be made case-by-case.

So while you feel non are required, the CDC recommends some as will a travel clinic. The CDC is often alarmist and travel clinics are a business.

cpena -

get the information, discuss with your own medical professional and then make a decision based on your intelligence and comfort level.

I've seen incorrect info on Hepatitis C a couple times on these boards so thought this might be a good place to say:

There is NO vaccine to PREVENT Hepatitis C--only a vaccine a doctor might recommend if you HAVE it already and need to slow liver damage.

Vaccines are available for Hep A and B only.

schlegal -

You are absolutely right about NO inoculation for Hep-C.

I was trying to impress on any traveler that there are as many diseases/illnesses one can get at home as on vacation regardless the country; proper precautions should be considered regardless where we are.

Oops! Fast reading certainly makes for poor comprehension. I see what you were saying, Sandi.

Nevertheless, I have seen other posts that suggest that there is a vaccine for Hep C so might as well put it out there that there isn't one.

I knew those "speed reading" courses would get us in trouble someday. Hey, I've done like you... don't give it another thought.

Thanks Sandi but I did consult my doctor before traveling and he researched it. I took the Hepatitis series just as a prevenative. And I was traveling with my brother, who is a physician and he didn't think we needed extra shots. That's why I suggested to check with your doctor.

I went to Egypt in Aug. 2003 & never took any medication. No one ever said I needed it & the the other people in the group didn't do anything either.

I went in Nov/Dec '04 and the international travel clinic said the CDC recommended the Hep A & B (a series of shots), polio, typhoid and an updated tetanus for me. I had my doctor give me a script for a generic antibiotic (Sumycin) for 15 days which I started taking 2 days before my trip and took every day during my trip as a preventative as I didn't want to get a case of TD on my holiday.(Some people told me to get Cipro but after doing some research on it, I really didn't feel comfortable with it...plus a friend took it on a trip to South Africa and said the side effects were worse than the side effects of the Yellow Fever shot.) I had absolutely no problems the entire time I was on the trip. I ate a lot of local foods...the only thing I didn't have was ice/water, lettuce or any other high water content veggies or fruits that I didn't peel. Drank bottle water as well as several cups of hot tea daily. The Hep shots are a series taken over a course of several months but I was able to get the first 2 series in and then had the final shot a couple months after my return.