First time to Africa. Going to Namibia in May 2013. Trying to get a handle on the shots I need to take before I go.
I've had all the childhood stuff; Measles, Mumps, etc. Polio vaccine 50 years ago. Would I need to take a booster?
Hepatitis shots will be number one on my list to take.
CDC has Typhoid and Rabies also on their list.
What about Malaria? I will not be hunting in north Namibia, but Plains Game one hour due east of Windhoek.

Thanks for any info.
Mauser K98

Your local health department can look what you need up on the computer. Yellow fever, diptheria, cholera and such. Malaria gets dosed with either Malarone or Meflaquine. Never been there so I can't help, sorry.

I was in Northern Namibia in July of 2010 and I didn't get any shots or take any malaria meds.

Take a look at the U.S. State Department's website to see what is required. They will suggest that you get all of the above mentioned shots.

I was there for 10 days and did not see a mosquito while I was there.

Google "CDC Yellow Book" and check out the country. It's the Bible for Travel Medicine and available online at no charge.

Minimally, get Thyphoid, Hep A and the usual others. Malerone isn't cheap, but th best and easiest anti-malarial to take. Do so, malaria is no fun and can kill.

Find a travel clinic and take their advice. Fly, as a pilot,internationally, in Africa now. Don't flinch from getting the medical aspects covered.

GF

I never saw a mosquito in the ten days that I was in Namibia.

Look at the CDC site but I think that I had Hep A&B, a tetanus booster and a rabies booster.

Been to Namibia twice. Just like going to Texas, just have fun!

I would suggest going to your local travel clinic. We have a good one here available to us and the nurses are very knowledgable about what you should have and what you can get by without.

Who will you be hunting with?

Just call Vaccines On The Go at 800-268-8684 and they can not only tell you what you need, they can send a nurse out to your home or office and take care of everything. Beats the heck out of waiting at the health department.

I think is was about 2006 Namibia had a polio outbreak and the World Health Organization was there vaccinating everyone,,,,I mean everybody! if you couldn't prove you had a current series for polio you got one in the airport. Your Physician can get you a World Health organization "health card", it shows your vaccinations and prescription meds on it which is good to have in hand. I also took the Typhoid and hepatitis series as well. If you are traveling direct to Namibia and not through any countries with a yellow fever issue then you don't have to have the Yellow fever vaccine but if you are doing a several country tour you better plan ahead and check all the countries reqirements. Namibia has out breaks of Rabies often and Their Kudu have been hit hard by it, so if in an area where rabies has been the rabies vaccine a great idea.....

Mauser, I'll be going to Namibia in May as well. Who are you hunting with? What route are you flying?

If your medical plan covers it, get Hep A, Hep B (one is two shots over 4 months the other is 3 over 6 months) Typhoid, Tetanus, and a polio booster. You will also need Yellow fever if your traveling through, to, or from, a Yellow fever country. If you fly SAA and stop in Senegal. your okay as long as YOU DON'T GET OFF THE PLANE. If you get off the plane in Senegal without the YF card, they could send you back from where you came. At YOUR expense.
Your family doc will likely not have any of these except tetanus so he will send you to a travel clinic. They are usually around $185 a shot, but if you get a script from your doc they are around $150. At least that what they were in my area back in January.

Central Namibia is dry, high, temperate desert, much like our Southwestern United States. You'll be there in our weather equivalent of November.

Assuming that you don't intend to do any close "socialization", getting the vaccines mentioned thus far is not merited. And if you do intend to engage in "physical socializing", those vaccines wouldn't help you, anyway.

Some people worry about rabies, particularly since one popular game species, kudu, is very subject to rabies outbreaks. Rabies is equally endemic in the U.S. as it is in Namibia; if you don't feel the need for rabies vaccination here, then you should feel no more need for it in Namibia. However, if you routinely work around animals, getting the vaccination might not be a bad idea regardless of which continent you spend your time on.

I went in 2007, and had a a diptet booster, polio booster and got a malerone Rx, although we saw no skeeters. If I had been headed further north to the Caprivi Valley, I would have needed a yellow fever shot according to the county nurse.
Mauser, sounds like you have already booked, but if not, give Johann at Shona Adventures a shout.

Contact a travel doctor, but make sure they differentiate between what is "recommended" and what is required. If you go the "recommended" route, you will get a $600 bill for every disease known to man. For instance -- rabies vaccine -- buys you 24 hours. What are your odds of getting bit by a rabid animal and if you were, could you get to a hospital with the regular shots within 24 hours -- radio calls, charters, all in the mix? I've opted against that one.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Contact a travel doctor, but make sure they differentiate between what is "recommended" and what is required. If you go the "recommended" route, you will get a $600 bill for every disease known to man. For instance -- rabies vaccine -- buys you 24 hours. What are your odds of getting bit by a rabid animal and if you were, could you get to a hospital with the regular shots within 24 hours -- radio calls, charters, all in the mix? I've opted against that one.

Required vaccines are required by the .gov to protect their society at large, not the individual traveler. Recommended vaccines are geared to keeping YOU healthy.

Namibia?

Malaria: Prophylaxis with Lariam (mefloquine), Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil), or doxycycline is recommended forthe provinces of Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, and Otjozondjupa and in the Caprivi Strip.

Vaccinations:
Hepatitis A

Recommended for all travelers

Typhoid

Recommended for all travelers

Yellow fever

Required for all travelers arriving from a yellow-fever-infected area in Africa or the Americas

Polio

One-time booster recommended for any adult traveler who completed the childhood series but never had polio vaccine as an adult

Hepatitis B

Recommended for all travelers

Rabies

For travelers spending a lot of time outdoors, or at high risk for animal bites, or involved in any activities that might bring them into direct contact with bats

Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)

Two doses recommended for all travelers born after 1956, if not previously given

Tetanus-diphtheria

Revaccination recommended every 10 years

I just got back last month(no Caprivi), and all I had was a tetanus shot. Ask your outfitter. Namibia is a large country with many different enviornments. CDC will give you a "one size fits all" answer.

You are fine. If you are up to date with all your vaccines, don't bother. I went to Namibia in 07 and never saw a mosquito. If you get any drugs at all get some Ambien for the flight over.

I have been there 4 times[ namibia],, never had a mosquito bite,, never saw one,, but flies , ticks and fleas,, yep, saw plenty,, my hunting buddy never saw a single mosquito either,,, but guess what,,, he got Malaria! Saying don't bother with vaccination or easy preventative care is just plain stupid. Typhoid,, you get it from poor sanitation,,,and contaminated water,,, anyone been to Africa,, in any part of Africa you should realize there is real potential there for an issue to occur. If you want to spend all your time behind a bush and decorating Africa just ignore the travel warnings. There are "recommendations" for a reason. Does anyone want to spend the money on a Safari to spend it sick? or be sick for a month upon your return? Take the proper vaccinations and meds and get a good travel/evacuation insurance policy. peace of mind worth a great deal for you and your family,,,

No one wants to get sick on Safari or otherwise. However, I would recommend that you consult a travel doc and make informed choices on what vaccines to get. For instance, many places cholera is a real problem, but you are not going to drink anything but bottled water.

Also, if you "get the flu" within a reasonable time after you get back, I'd recommend that you go to a doctor promptly and tell your doctor where you have been -- it may well change his diagnosis.

The first time I sat down across the desk of a highly-renowned rheumatologist -- in Houston, not exactly a backwater -- he looked at my blood tests, and based on the titers, said, "Where the hell have you been?". Tell them, they need that information.

For my first Namibia trip, I took my 11 year old son and my 67 year old father. So, I went the travel doctor route with absolutely no regrets.

For vaccines, my father and I got Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and Tetanus-diphtheri. The Typhoid was oral.

We also got Malarone for malaria and the normal traveler's diarrhea antibiotic.


My 11 year old son already had all the vaccines except typhoid. Kids are required to have the hepatitis vaccines for school.

My son and I had no issues with the Malarone. It upset my father's stomach.

If you are going to northern Namibia (Caprivi strip) you need Malarone to be safe. If you are hunting west or south of Windhoek, the Khomas or the Kalahari, it's not needed. No malaria in the desert. Been there four times and I'm going back, have fun, keep your head down and follow thru. Good Luck......Tom

quote:

Originally posted by drwes:
I have been there 4 times[ namibia],, never had a mosquito bite,, never saw one,, but flies , ticks and fleas,, yep, saw plenty,, my hunting buddy never saw a single mosquito either,,, but guess what,,, he got Malaria! Saying don't bother with vaccination or easy preventative care is just plain stupid. Typhoid,, you get it from poor sanitation,,,and contaminated water,,, anyone been to Africa,, in any part of Africa you should realize there is real potential there for an issue to occur. If you want to spend all your time behind a bush and decorating Africa just ignore the travel warnings. There are "recommendations" for a reason. Does anyone want to spend the money on a Safari to spend it sick? or be sick for a month upon your return? Take the proper vaccinations and meds and get a good travel/evacuation insurance policy. peace of mind worth a great deal for you and your family,,,

+1 on that! Even if you're not in areas where problems are expected, situations that are unanticipated can occur. I was once hunting in Charara, in Northern Zimbabwe. We left camp by foot early in the morning, and walked all day. By mid-afternoon we were out of water and it was hot. We'd walked across the Charara River quite a few times, and at some point when we were parched, we all drank directly from the river. Nobody got sick from it, but we were all wondering what sort of discomfort we might feel later on for slaking our thirst. Among other things, we were in a Bilharzia area, but who knows what other organisms lived in that water?

You can be put in situations you don't anticipate, and contract illnesses you wouldn't expect under normal circumstances. You pay a great deal of money to go on safari. Saving money by not taking most of the recommended medications is just as chancy as shooting cheap, inferior quality ammunition to save a few bucks. Penny-wise but pound-foolish, IMO.

Folks,

There are so many things that can't be controlled during international travel and safari hunting why would anyone not handle the things that are in our control like getting the proper vaccines and taking the right prophylaxis. Not going by the CDC guidelines is like playing Russian roulette with your health and a great way to ruin your safari experience.

Mark

I booked a hunt in the North Western Territory in Autrailia through L David Keith several years ago,, one of his reccomendations for me besides my normal vaccines was to take a super B-complex vitamin. I asked him if it helped withjet lag and he said no,, that one of the B-vitamins according to I believe his dad, makes us less tasty to the biting insects such as mosquitos. I had never heard of such and couldn't find it online anywhere but mosquites love me as well as knats, and biting flies so I gave it a try. Call me foolish maybe but I still take the super b-complex vitamin and bugs barely bother me at all now....My point is,, if you ask for advice and get it and don't take heed, deal with the consequences,, and who is foolish now