To consider leaving my son at home whilst we visit DPs family in Africa

[Babymoosmum]

My partner is from Kenya and his family still visit regularly as his parents will be moving back there sometime soon and he has elderly relatives over there. He's thinking of going back at the beginning of next year and his parents are automatically assuming that ds will be fine to come he'll only be one at the time so I'd hate to leave him with grandma for the week but I'm worried about his safety and health even after vaccinations. Also worried about two planes with a one year old. We would only be going to Nairobi and Nakuru which are cities so none of the more rural parts with no water etc. Aibu?

You're worrying needlessly.

yes the elderly relatives would probably love to see him. under 2s are free on the plane too

The travelling bit might be a bit stressful, but everything else will be fine, why wouldn't it be?

Don't worry. Kenya is great. The cities have good facilities and even in the poorer areas people are clean and hygienic. You will have a lovely time and so will DS. People are lovely (as you know). Just make sure all correct vaccinations in place and enjoy!

@inseoir not 100% sure but when I mentioned it to the GP she seemed pretty shocked and judgey and said I should do my research before taking a 1 year old there even with vaccinations so it made me start to worry

I wouldn't be bringing a baby to Kenya - how are you going to give all the vaccines required for a Kenya visit when your baby is so young?

Actually, I think you have to have a yellow fever vaccination - I'm not sure a 1 year old can have that? Something to check.

Are these your DS relatives?
I've been similar places and I know lots of locals and expats with small DCs. I think the travelling will be harder with such a young DC but I wouldn't worry too much about the vaccinations as lots of children have them.
I would say wait till he's going to remember the trip, maybe aged 4 or 5, and go in the dry season so lower risk of malaria.
Also be aware that your DP's Kenyan relatives will think that small DCs should be happy with little or no entertainment, will sit still during really long visits in a language they don't understand, and will be OK to play out with not much supervision.
So you will probably want to be firm about safety and keeping visits short, going places under your own steam etc.

I think the main thing you ought to research is malaria risk/protection/. Read up on this, as exposure can show up in a child even a year later. I don't know anything about anti-malaria tablets and kids. What did your GP advise regarding malaria risk (and any others)?

@drspouse yes grandmother, aunts, uncles etc. We're actually teaching him the language along with English as my dp regrets that he didn't continue to speak it after moving over here so hopefully he'll know bits and pieces. The safety thing I'm very worried about but I would definitely put my foot down if I though ds would be in danger. Thanks for the advice x

I think my biggest concern would be malaria. I'd want to talk to a doctor about anti-malarials and also look at the WHO advice. Are you travelling wet or dry season? If your relatives fairly wealthy and have ac and mosquito screens at home id not worry too much (but would use anti-malarials, repellant and take a cot net).

@thevanguardsix she didn't get much into it as I mentioned it in passing at another appointment. She just said I need to do plenty on research and asked if I have a pram with a mosquito net (I do) and said that would be a must when going for long walks, to the market etc

@barbarianmum I think they're fairly wealthy they have multiple houses and a fair amount of land so I imagine they'll have those things as mil has 2 primary school aged children that visit with her. Dp said Jan/Feb time, not sure which season that is?

GPs aren’t experts on geography and international relations

The rainy season is different times in different parts of the country.

I’ve refused to take my children to visit relatives in developing countries until they learn not to touch everything and stick their grunt fingers in their mouths. I don’t take them on the tube for the same reason. Travelingto these kinds of places is perfectly safe if you take reasonable precautions to account for your slightly weak by local standards immune systems but toddlers aren’t capable of dozing that.

We've taken dd to fairly far flung places since she was a baby, but avoided anywhere malarial until she was old enough to take anti-malarial tablets. I think that's the most important thing to check out.

When we go abroad we fill out a travel health form from our GP, hand it in to the surgery and then make an appointment to see one of the practice nurses. That gives them time to look up the country that we want to visit. I expect your GP will be able to do something similar.

You need to be specific about what areas you want to visit, not just the country eg when dd was a toddler we went to South Africa. There were plenty of places that were safe to visit, but we didn't go to Kruger National Park (which we would have done if she was older) as that was in a malarial part of the country.

btw flying with a baby should be fine - easier than a fidgety toddler.

I was horribly sick in Kenya. It is not just the mosquitoes but the flies. They are everywhere in rural Kenya. The healthcare is incredibly basic, so if you have an emergency you may have a big problem.

I have been to Kenya a few times, and there is no way I would take a baby there at that age. No way.

I've been to Kenya a few times. I wouldn't be worried about the flights. I also wouldn't be too bothered about facilities since you're staying in major cities with wealthy relatives.
My main concern would be the vaccinations. If I were you, I'd make an appointment at a specialist travel clinic and ask their advice.
And as a PP said, if you decide to go then definitely take a mosquito net and also Jungle Formula spray and high SPF sun-lotion.

You need to find out the malaria risk in the area you are in because it varies across Kenya.

If there is a proper risk (malaria cases within the last few years) I wouldn't see how you could manage that safely.

Avoiding malaria is about a combo of avoiding being biten and prophilaxis drugs. Avoiding being biten is long sleeves lots of DEET and viligance - you can be bitten on the face.

Sounds like a bad idea to me but research malaria risks.

I agree that malaria is the biggest risk. I don't think there are any anti-malarials that your child could take at one year old. Children under five are very vulnerable to malaria, so I don't think just relying on bite prevention is enough.

I would also check if your child is able to receive all the recommended vaccinations before traveling if you haven't already.

I've been to Nairobi - you would need to ask a professional - but I would be worried about the malaria risk. I would like to take my children to Africa but I don't intend to take them until I think they will be OK taking the malaria tablets which can be quite harsh on the body.

I wouldn't take a baby to Kenya...but then again I also wouldn't take myself there either.

Not with the malaria risk - no way. Wouldn't you need to consider yellow fever jabs too?

I travel to Kenya a fair bit and usually go with friends and their DC (now 4 but been going since 6 months) You'll be there in the dry season (dec-march). I probably wouldn't go in the wet season, mainly because it's miserable weather!

Nairobi, the immediate surroundings and the highlands (except valleys) are low risk for malaria but you do need to take precautions particularly at twilight times. Nets, deet, long sleeves etc.

In terms of yellow fever, you only need to produce a yellow fever certificate if you are coming from a country affected by yellow fever, so if you fly direct from UK it should be ok. Consider what your yellow fever exposure is likely to be.

The CDC guidance is American but very comprehensive and is what I tend to look up, along with WHO guidance. it doesn't recommend yellow fever vaccination if your stay is limited to the North East/Kilifi/Kwale some other provinces plus Mombasa and Nairobi

Given your description of where you'll be staying, I imagine this will be air-conditioned, sealed compound type areas without open windows and stagnant water lying around.

I'm a doctor and often find that some poorly-travelled doctors do have quite old-fashioned ideas about what cities will be like in developing countries. This may be related to the fact that a lot of our tropical diseases education is based around diseases that are more endemic in rural and impoverished areas. For example the GP thinking you'd be walking to the market - in Nairobi I'd expect you to be driving in an air conditioned car to a shopping mall! (NB I recommend the Hub - good food court with lots of international variety if you get sick of Kenyan food and KFC/Dominos if you want fast food, good range of shops, a handy supermarket and some kids activities. They've also got super fast free wifi.)

Overall, I'd have a think about exactly where you'll be visiting - get on google maps (streetview isn't everywhere but there are lots of pics) - to get a sense of the areas and plan from there.