Does anyone know what vaccinations we need for South Africa?

[atticusclaw2]

I can't find a definitive answer on the internet. Some sites seem to indicate we don't need anything. Others say hep A Hep B typhoid and rabies.

DH and I might need boosters. Not sure what the DSs will need/have had

You need to chat to your Practice Nurse, it depends on where you're going, what sort of accommodation, what you're doing & how long for.

DSs medical records will have his past imms info.

You should be up to date with DTaP and MMR. The far North East (including the Kruger) is a malarial area. Unless you have underlying health conditions or are planning to really rough it, you shouldn't need anything else.

Don't forget you'll need to show a birth certificate for children when entering / exiting the country.

Nothing I live in Cape Town and haven't been vaccinated in years. I've recently moved back here after ten years in the UK. SA is not like typical Africa!

We're doing madikwe rather than Kruger and I understand it isn't malarial. So we might not need anything at all. That's good news.

This is the website your travel nurse will consult.

HepA if you want to eat any fruit or salad without fretting, but most others not unless you are in very basic accommodation.

I would recommend Hepatitis A and B and ensuring you are in date for diphtheria, tetanus, polio and MMR.

Remember your insect repellent containing 30% DEET, even though no malaria there is a risk of dengue fever and other insect-borne disease. If you have access to safe water you shouldn't need typhoid.

Safest to make a travel health appointment with your practice nurse and check that you and any other travellers are all in date for routine vaccinations, and have a look here

Some of these jabs you need to have a certain amount of days before you go so must plan ahead.

I wouldn't bother with HepB if you aren't planning to exchange bodily fluids.

Hep B can be worthwhile if there's a risk of illness, injury or accident. Also if a frequent traveller.

You can get combined Hep A/B vaccine so that might be worth considering.

Well, I was told (strictly speaking somewhere further north in Africa) to carry my own sterile syringe kit. Just in case i needed an emergency jab.

Like I would manage to remember A) the kit B) where it was C) how to persuade someone in an emergency to use only my syringe & not what they otherwise felt qualified to use & that was appropriate to use.

I was also told to closely consider whether to get rabies jabs beforehand, because there's a world wide shortage & it would be immoral to use supplies in a developing country: quick visit to Trip Advisor where everyone talked about Rabies immunoglobulin being widely available (& cheap!) in country X.

This story gets longer & even more far-fetched sounding if I throw in what I was actually advised by infectious disease expert & a European who lived for yrs in the actual area I was visiting.

So yeah, you can try to prepare for every possible scenario, or maybe not.

I thought HepA was useful because I like to eat fresh fruit. Typhoid might go with that, but not sure.