Immunizations

Hi Mamax5,

Vaccinations can be confusing. In regards to Tanzania and Zanzibar you only need to show proof of Yellow Fever vaccination if traveling from a country with risk of YFV transmission, assuming you are traveling from the US,UK or Australia that should not be a problem.

This best advice that I can give you is to listen to your doctor. They can provide the best care for you.

Hope this helps,
Emily

Comments

  • Hi Mamax5,

    I can see why your doctor wanted nothing to do with your decision not to avail yourselves of the normal vaccinations! And why he was so eager to write you a letter. It is always important to have your doctor verify that you are fit and healthy enough, in body and soul, to undertake such an adventure as an African safari. After all, you are not taking a trip to the nearest shopping mall. You are lucky enough to be embarking on a wonderful trip of your dreams. Tauck are wonderful and take care of most things, but even they cannot tell in advance where disease risks migrate to and from.

    You might be interested in this extract from the Mayo Clinic's online site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yellow-fever/DS01011/DSECTION=risk%2Dfactors

    Risk factors
    By Mayo Clinic staff
    You may be at risk of the disease if you travel to an area where mosquitoes continue to carry the yellow fever virus. These areas include sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America.

    Even if there aren't current reports of infected humans in these areas, it doesn't mean you're risk-free. It's possible that local populations have been vaccinated and are protected from the disease, or that cases of yellow fever just haven't been detected and officially reported.

    If you're planning on traveling to these areas, you can protect yourself by getting a yellow fever vaccine at least 10 to 14 days before traveling.

    Anyone can be infected with the yellow fever virus, but older adults are at greater risk of getting seriously ill.


    I wonder where your private source got their information about that age risk for vaccinations? I'd be interested to know, since I have birthdays in my sights and would like to know when to expect my current Yellow Fever vaccination is likely to turn round and bite me on the rear. Forewarned is forearmed, yes?

    The most important thing now is to have your passport and date of birth, and your doctor's waiver, handy at all times, so you can display it to any disease carriers you might encounter along your way. I'm not sure they respect political and territorial borders, though. I'm sure the disease carriers will still respect your decision and move on to the next host. Don't forget to prepare yourselves for a possibly longer stay than you first envisioned, but I'm sure the quarantine arrangements in Africa are quite acceptable these days.

    As always, it is most important, as Emily says, to seek your doctor's advice and then listen to it. He/she knows you and your overall health situation and is best placed to advise you ... as opposed to an internet forum! If you don't want to listen or to take your doctor's advice, you can always choose to travel to another part of the world. It's all wonderful and Tauck can take you to so many parts of it!

    Good luck!

    Jan
  • mamax5 wrote:
    Our doctor wanted nothing to do about the decision but did agree to write us waivers due to our age.


    Okaaay? Whatever you say? But I was replying to your post, which I found perplexing.

    As always, you must take responsibility for your own health after consulting personally with your own professionally qualified medical practitioner. Your own medical practitioner knows you and yours best.

    The possibility of being taken ill while travelling is always real. The possibility of returning home and to then fall ill is also always real.

    Good luck and may the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

    Jan
  • I imagine Jan is considered a Tauck expert because of the excellent advice Jan has unselfishly offered to me and several hundred other Tauck travelers. I am grateful.

    I moved to Africa when I was 13. I lived there for five years and saw Yellow Fever in action in West Central Africa. I returned to Africa with Tauck 52 years later and never hesitated to get another Yellow Fever shot. That shot will be effective for ten years. I only hope I will be healthy enough to return to Africa in my 80s...and I will get another YF shot then whether it is required for where I go or not. That is how frightened I am of Yellow Fever.

    As my doctor said to me (even though I didn't ask), "Why bet your life you will not encounter an infected mosquito?" Jan was simply trying to make the same point in an emphatic, life saving way. Smile...you are about to visit the most fascinating place on Earth...Leo M
  • Traveling to Tanzania in August. Seeing some suggestion about getting rabies vaccine? Any comment about if this is typically gotten for travelers with Tauck to this region?
  • Hi Travelmore...Rabies vaccine? Good question. Our physician teased us saying that injection would not be needed unless we intended to pet the animals we photographed. She also added a more pragmatic caveat. If you visit a native village be sure not to pet the dogs that guard the village. We saw such dogs and resisted the temptations to make friends. As a result, we had no problems.

    I did see the same advice in print. It was either in the notes Tauck sent us, or, on the Center for Disease Control website I read. I'm sorry I can't remember which it was. It was, however, a reputable source....Leo M.
  • Hi Travelmore,

    Not that this addresses your question at all ... but should you get lost on your way to Africa and land up in Australia, you can pat all the animals you like. We don't have rabies here, thank God. Actually, on second thought, you shouldn't go patting all the animals you want ... we have lots of bitey things of the wild variety. Not much consolation when you hold up a mangled finger then, huh? Ouch!

    Seriously, good point, though. And good advice from Leo. My natural inclination is to engage with pets. Wild animals are a bit too scary for me, particularly African ones! Mind you, thinking how close I got to wild hippos when I was in Africa ... Good grief, the things you do when you're young and stupid!

    Have a wonderful trip. Come back and tell us all about it!

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • Hello Travelmore,

    For the most current information, please consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.htm and the World Health Organization (WHO) at http://www.who.int/ith/en/. It may also be advisable to visit the web sites for the embassies of the countries you will be visiting. Besides providing details on vaccination requirements, these sites can also provide information on vaccinations that may be recommended (but aren’t required) and other potential health issues for which no vaccines are available.

    Any decisions relating to your health, of course, should not be based solely on information provided by a web site. It is critically important that you consult with your personal physician prior to your journey to obtain any required vaccinations and to review any optional recommendations offered by the CDC or other sources.

    Please be sure to discuss your journey with your physician at least four to six weeks in advance of your departure, as certain vaccinations take time to become fully effective. Also, be certain to ask your physician for proof of any vaccinations you receive, and to pack this proof along with your other travel documents in your carry-on luggage (not in your checked luggage).
    http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.htm

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
  • Are there any vaccines that would prevent a traveler from being allowed into Tanzania or Kenya if they weren't obtained? We are doing the June 22 trip and have received hepatitis A and B, tetanus, and plan to get typhoid and malaria. We are unsure about yellow fever and polio booster. Of course, we will get anything suggested, but our main concern is not being allowed to enter a country. Any suggestions?
  • Marko...We've been to Africa three times in the last 15 months and have never been asked what shots we've had or to present our shot records (which we always have with us). While I can't guarantee it, I doubt you will be asked. If you have any doubts, take a moment to go to the Embassy's website. They will tell you (under visas) if you must have a particular inoculation.

    Otherwise, the motivation to cover yourself must come from a desire to protect yourself and your family. We did get yellow fever and polio. Our physician thought it would be a good idea. We agreed. Hope you have a wonderful trip...

    Leo M
  • We are scheduled for the 25 May tour for Serengeti to Zanzabar.

    We went to the local "Passport Health" Medical office. They are all over the USA. Can also google it. They will sit down with you to go over all medical information you need to know for any country.

    Cost was $75 for consultation. Vaccines are additional.

    Al E
  • we will be on the May 25 tour as well so we will get to meet you!! one thing I do know is that Visa for Tanzania is only good for 90 days from date of issuance so dont jump the gun. We are also getting some boosters for other things per the CDC website. We are getting them a bit early in case any of them make us sick we have time to recover. so looking forward to this trip!!
  • I know this is an older thread on the forum, but I just had my mother in law on the phone worried to death about us contracting Malaria, this will be our third visit to Africa. We always take the meds and in fact just got our supply for next month because we have found our pharmacist sometimes needs a few days to get them or is short of a few for our needs. Plus I like to be organized.
    The concern was brought about because a 21 year old British girl contracted Malaria there and was dead the next day. The report I just read stated she was taking Malaria meds. There were cautions from a health specialist saying that you have to be sure you are taking the correct malaria meds for the region you are visiting and also that 2000 British tourists contract Malaria while abroad each year. In addition it talked about ensuring the blood levels of the drug you are taking are maintained over the time including when you return home. I have actually read on this forum that one Tauck traveller took it upon themselves to take half the dose their doctor had prescribed because it made them feel a little ill, that would be foolish!
    Remember Tauck tells you about vaccinations that are 'required' that means the country you are visiting will not let you in if you do not have that vaccine, a good example being Yellow fever. A requirement does not mean you do not need protection from other diseases that you may encounter in a country, like Malaria, after all, it does not affect them if you get Malaria when you get back home.
    We have taken several different malaria meds depending on the country we have been visiting, we personally have never had problems, don't let others worry you about their problems with a medicine, always consult a travel expert.
  • edited June 2014
    I see the original post for this isn't here, but I think I remember it being about older people having reactions to the Yellow Fever vaccinations. I am always amazed, and pleased, at the responses that Tauck travelers give to people who have questions. This post is another great example of that.

    I can tell you that I am 67 and had my Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A immunizations, and given a Rx for malaria, for my Tanzania/Kenya trip that begins on June 28th. There was never any discussion of not getting it from either my PCP or Travel Physician. I already have had a flu and tetanus shot. The only discussion I had with my physicians was that I didn't need polio, Hep B (unless I planned on cavorting with local women and drug users), rabies (unless I planned on petting the local dogs and the animals I was photographing), etc. There was never a discussion of a waiver unless I had contraindicative allergies. Nothing about age being one of those.

    I received very common sense (which I think should be called uncommon sense since it isn't very common) on food and water ingestion. Both physicians reminded me that I am in a Tauck "bubble" and that the company will make sure that food and water that I ingest will be as safe as they can. Their reputation and business would fall off the face of the earth if their "Taucktourians" were to suffer illness and disease on a large scale basis. Yes, some folks will probably get some sort of illness, especially if they don't follow the "rules" on drinking water and eating food. Yes, some people will be bitten by mosquitoes, thus putting them at risk for Yellow Fever and Malaria (even if they have been given a vaccination) . I haven't had Yellow Fever, but I have had Malaria and Amoebic Dysentery. I prefer not to have them again. My description is that I didn't know if it was winter or summer--I was shivering and sweating at the same time. I can guarantee you I will be taking my Malaria Rx on time.

    Emily, British, and Jan are all giving well thought out advice and using their experiences to help those, like me, who haven't been on a Subsaharan African journey. I appreciate their information and if I question it I can research their responses to find out what I need.

    Keep up the good work folks....Happy Trails.

  • Ndvb, I know you will be leaving for your Disney Cruise soon, have fun with your family and be sure to send us the
    Latest tips from Africa while you are there ! British
  • Thanks. I'll try to send some updates. I leave for the Disney thing in about a week and a half, then off to Tanzania two weeks after that.

    I'm excited and ready for both. Planning is always good and I think I have done a good job of that--for both trips. I've been at the Columbus Zoo (Ohio) taking pictures in their new (just opened last Thursday) African Safari section. They have a 10 acre "savanna" with lions, zebras, ostriches, wildebeests, etc. They keep the lions segregated from the "prey" with a 25' deep moat that has a 9' fence in the middle. They have hidden it so you can't tell it even exists. First class job. Jungle Jack Hanna hit a home run on this one. The #1 zoo in the country did it again. I bought a new piece of glass (lens) and it takes some great pictures. It is large and cumbersome but I am going to bring on the Tauck safari anyway. I have a couple of GoPros too. I'll just hook them to the Jeep and see if I get anything. We'll see if I am sorry after it is over.

    I'll try to post a link to some pictures.

  • ndvb wrote:
    I'll try to post a link to some pictures.
    I can't wait. Have a fabulous time … kids, sharks, lions, GoPros, Uncle Tom Cobley and all. Especially the GoPros!

    Cheers,

    Jan
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