Zanzibar vaccinations and malaria advice please.

[StripyCarpets]

we’re going to Zanzibar 18/6 for 11 days. Staying in a hotel.
I’ve just spoken to a travel clinic and they said we should get: Hep A & Typhoid

also malaria and I opted for Malarone

they also said we need a yellow fever certificate or we won’t be allowed in Zanzibar.

they said adults should make sure they are up to date with polio, dipp & tetanus

the GP I spoke to separately said we only need malaria so I’m a bit confused.

any advice?

TIA

This is what you need to look at:

https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/africa/united-republic-of-tanzania

Health - Tanzania travel advice - GOV.UK

Clinic might be trying to sell you things you don't need.

Malaria prophylaxis definitely take. East coast of Africa is high risk for malaria. Also take decent insect repellent. You would need DEET or something with Picardin in, citronella bracelets aren’t going to cut it against dengue carrying mozzies. Read the instructions, and put it on properly. DEET works not by smelling bad to the mozzie, but by feeling bad through their feet (they have receptors in their feet for a sense we do not have) and this causes them to fly off again if they land on you. So it must cover all of your exposed skin - spray it on and rub it in. I have several colleagues who have caught malaria in East Africa, one of whom nearly died, so it is not a thing to ignore.

WRT Yellow fever - you would only need a vaccination if you were arriving from another part of Africa which had yellow fever endemic there. So if you are stopping off overnight in say Kenya on your way down, then Zanzibar would want a Yellow Fever certificate. Having said that, in all the time I have been going to East Africa (over 20 years! 😱) I have never been asked for mine.

You should make sure your standard vaccines - diphtheria, tetanus, polio, are up to date. It would be wise to have typhoid, cholera and whatever hepatitis vaccinations are available these days, but probably not necessary. Waterborne illnesses are rife in all parts of Africa, the poorer the area the worse the problems. Zanzibar, for all its beautiful beaches, is a very poor part.

If you already have the yellow fever vaccination certificate take it just in case, however if you are going straight from the UK you don’t need it. If you are stopping in Kenya first you will be asked. I regularly travel between Kenya and Tanzania and they always ask to see it.

@marcopront
Thank you so much! super super helpful! Great info re the way deet works; will read your post exactly to the teenagers and hope they take on board!!!
also, I will get yellow fever certs. So grateful!

this is so helpful!! Thank you! Posted in error above but will pass on all your malaria info, so grateful! @backinthebox