I am going to Tanzania & Zanzibar in November; find different advice about needing Yellow fever inoculation. Can anyone help me decide if I really need this shot.I do plan on taking pills for malaria. Thanks

Do a search on this board in the box on top of this page. Enter "yellow fever" (w/o the "&quot and click search on the right. Threads will appear in the left column.

But FYI, Yellow Fever inoculation is not required for entry into Tanzania or Zanzibar, especially if arriving from a Western Country. Visitors on traditional itineraries do not come into contact with areas where there may (likely not) been any Yellow Fever.

Besides the fact that this is an expensive inoculations that most general practitioners do not have in their offices, you'd have to go to a Travel Med Clinic. And, always discuss any medical inocs or meds with your own physician with consideration of your personal medical history.

It is suggested, though, to be current on such inoculations at Hep-A and Tetanus, both of which will serve you well at home.

Do the search and read the info and comments; then decide.

Great question-good luck getting a straigth answer. I went to a travel clinic and they told me I needed it so I got it. My husband went to his gen. practitioner and he did not recommend it(we are traveling together to the same places!!!!!) Obviously there is some 'grey' zone with this shot as we got 2 diff recommendations from diff MD. Good luck and let us know what is recommended to you.

momofmany

You are not required to get the yellow fever vaccine to visit Tanzania, but the CDC recommends it. Don't know if that helps at all...

It does last 10 years, so if you plan to visit somewhere else where you do need it...then it may be worth it to you. It cost me about $130.

I was also confused by the CDC recommendations for Kenya/Tanzania, so I decided to simply go to a travel doctor and put my trust in her recommendations. My travel doc did recommend a Yellow Fever innoculation, even though it is not legally required. She also gave me tetanus and typhoid, and I already had Hep A shots. She said that there was a shortage of meningococcus vaccine, and that if she had any she would have given it to me, but that it wasn't mandatory.

I suggest you go to a travel doc and simply follow their recommendations. They are trained to balance out the pros and cons, including not only your destinations but also your specific itinerary and the length of trip. For example, she said that I probably did not need rabies shots (since a safari does not usually include personal contact with the animals) but to NOT pet the chimpanzees in the sanctuary.

I also got the yellow fever shot even though it wasn't required. My travel doctor reccomended it though, so I followed her advice. It's not cheap though, it cost me about $145.


Jenn

keep in mind that techincally, if you are crossing into Tanzania from Kenya (or vice versa) you are required to have Yellow Fever vaccine. We had ours done, and no one bothered to ask. But I don't know how often they ask. Since it lasts 10years, and if you will be doing any travel at all (outside Europe/US), it's not a bad thing to have. Just get it done once and you don't have to worry. I second the Hep A and Tetanus advice. I was offered Typhoid, but didn't take it. It was getting very close to the trip and I didn't want to take a chance on side effect with piling on Yellow Fever, MAlarone and Typhoid meds, so I (probaby unwisely) dropped one.

lerasp -

There is no longer a requirement for Yellow Fever when crossing between Kenya and Tanzania. That was lifted about 2/years ago.

sorry for misinformation. thank you for correction