Safari blog Shadows Of Africa

Nov 22, 2013

Tips on Staying Healthy While Traveling to Africa






Medical units are essential parts of all airports and border crossings in Tanzania. Travellers arriving directly from Europe and the USA need no prior vaccination. If you’re coming from a country with yellow fever, you will need to present the authorities with your vaccination booklet from which they’ll get proof of your good health.
It is advisable that you ask your personal physician about the following
vaccinations: typhoid, yellow fever (if you’re coming from an infected area), hepatitis,
diphtheria, cholera, meningitis, rabies or hepatitis B.
You should also check if your dates for polio and tetanus vaccinations are valid. Travellers intending on staying in Tanzania longer should be vaccinated against rabies as well.
We suggest that you consult your personal
physician prior to your arrival to Tanzania and check if your vaccination dates are still valid.
Malaria is common all over Tanzania. In high altitude areas (over 1800 m), such as Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro, malaria is relatively rare; however, the disease is present in areas you’ll pass on your way to these destinations. Please state clearly that you’re travelling to Tanzania when consulting your personal physician. It is not enough to say that you’re going to Africa, since it is very important that you get the right medications for malaria in that specific area of the continent. You should begin taking your malaria medications a few days prior to your trip, continue taking them while in Tanzania and also for a short period of time when you get back home.
The risk of exposure or transmission of AIDS is no greater here than anywhere else. Mosquitos do not transmit AIDS here. Careful examinations are being carried out in hospitals full of highly qualified doctors, nurses and technicians from Africa, America and Europe. In Dar es Salaam and Arusha, there are a lot of highly qualified doctors, surgeons, dentists and nurses as well. Most camping sites, hotels and lodges have their own physicians and are in contact with the Flying Doctors Service (association for aerial evacuation in extreme conditions). 


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