Victoria Falls - malaria tablets required for 2 days?
 

Hi

We are planning a 2 day trip to Vic Falls in early Dec, as part of a 3 week trip that takes in Madikwe, Garden route and Cape Town. As Vic Falls will be the only malarial area we go to, do we still need to take malaria tablets? I know it's better to be safe than sorry but just wondered what the risk is at that time of year and for this period of time.

Thanks
John

Hello,

December is the summer in southern Africa, which means it's warm and humid and prime time for insects. So yes, you should definitely take some malaria tablets, as well as using insect repellent whilst in a malarial region.

Cheers,
Julian

I agree. I know alot of people don't like to take malaria pills, but my feeling is that it is better to be safe than sorry. We took them throughout our entire trip to Cape Town, Sabi Sands, Victoria Falls, and the Okavanga Delta even though we were there in the winter. I only saw 2-3 mosquitos, but I felt alot better knowing that if one of them happened to be carrying malaria, I was protected. For repellent, use something with DEET. Magellans.com has a great product that is a cream and is easy and light to carry. It was developed by the US Army and seems to work really well. I didn't need it in Africa, but I used it in Maine this summer and it really kept the little buggers away. It's called Ultrathon repellent.

Maybe you ask the management of the hotel where you're planning to stay? They should know best...

Mitch

Jasher is right on. Of everywhere we visited in Southern Africa end-November/begin-December VFA was the worst with heat and very humid and prime mossie breeding and biting. Though biting is from dusk-to-dawn, that is when you should be wearing long pants and sleeves and use repellent on exposed skin (not the face). Unless you plan to spend your entire 2-days indoors with a/c - just walking thru lobbies and hallways - you're a candidate to be bitten.

For the 2-days, you only need 11
tablets. Take from 2-days prior time in VFA, while there, the remaining 7-tabs thereafter.

Just to clarify: what Sandi said about dosing only applies if you are taking Malarone -- the other anti-malarials have different dosing regimens. For a short trip, Malarone makes the most sense -- the others have to be taken for four weeks after you leave the malarious area.

Cheers,
Julian

Without a doubt you should take malarial precautions. Malaria is common in that area. With the problems the Zims are having, I imagine that the locals are not getting treatment like they used to, aggrevating the situation.

Robbie