MariMari

The tour company we are going with in Tanzania say we only need medication for malaria. A doctor,also, suggests we take anti-diarrhea medication.
On the gov. health department website , their list is longer with additional vaccinations for hepatitis A & B, typhoid, yellow fever, and a polio booster.
I sure don't want to get sick, but I don't want to be getting things I really do not need for the safari.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

thit_cho

Check with your doctor. Medical advice, unlike where to stay or what to see, is not the type of advice I would trust from an anonymous source on the internet.

sandi

Yellow Fever is no longer required as indicated by Kenya and Tanzania. As to the other two:

HepA is good to have regardless where one travels, even when at home. HepA is a food and water borne desease and you can pick this up anywhere. It is good for ten (10) years and given as two shots, the second given between 6/mo and 1/yr of the first. There is currently a combo HepA/B inoculation - believe called Twinex - if this is what is offered by your physician.

Polio Boosters, if you haven't had one since childhood, the initial one has surely lost it's efficacy, so the booster will last the rest of your life.

In addition, it's a good idea to have a Tetanus inoculation, in case you hurt yourself on dirty wood or something else. This one also is good for 10 years.

You should still discuss these with your own physician and/or a Travel Clinic as regards your own health situation. And if you travel regularly, once you've had these, you should pretty much be set for awhile. The final decision is yours in consultation with a medical professional.

Malaria meds (Malarone), are a must, as well as the use of insect repellent during mossie biting time, between dusk to dawn - when one should wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, socks - applied to exposed skin (not the face). Do remember to wash off before retiring for bed. If provided, sleep under mosquito net and/or spray your room (repellent is usually provided for this purpose).

photoholic

marimari

take all the jabs you can get. Africa is a third world continent were all types of deadly diseases strike down tourists everyday. I think you should get rabbies incase of the lion bite!!!!!

In all seriousness, go on i think it is MASTA.com. They are pretty good for what you need to take

enjoy your travels

JackieSun

We took everything offered: Hep AB, Polio, Tetanus, Malaria, etc. We did not want to take the risk.

MariMari

THANK YOU for all the good information.
I guess it boils down to that it would be better to be sorry I over-protected myself than to be sorry that I did not.
Thank's again for your replies. They helped a lot!