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TRAVEL AND HEALTH

 

 

 

Health Protection

South Africa has excellent medical care that can measure up to European conditions. (As is known, the first heart transplantation took place in South Africa!) Competent help can be expected along the tourist routes, but also in smaller towns. Outside of normal opening hours, emergency pharmacies are always available in larger towns and cities. In the surrounding countries - especially Namibia and Botswana, the distances between bigger towns are much longer.
South Africa - Nationwide police emergency number: 10 111
South Africa - Nationwide emergency call for ambulances: 10 177


The phone numbers of local hospitals can be found in the front pages of phone books, doctors under "Medical".
The
NETCARE Travel Clinics website: https://www.netcare.co.za/netcare-travel-clinics provides specialists, offers specialist advice and recommendations for vaccinations, medications etc.

Important: European health certificates are not accepted in South Africa. Visitors have to pay for the costs themselves. It is therefore imperative that you take out foreign health insurance and see whether you also have got trip interruption insurance insurance aditionally to your travel cancellation insurance. You need this if your flight home is delayed due to illness or injury or travel companions have to stay with you etc. Some private health insurances cover the foreign risk. Please inquire before you travel!

 

 

 

Vaccinations

Cholera: Vaccination is no longer necessary.

Yellow Fever: Anyone arriving in South Africa from a yellow fever zone in Africa or South America or passing through places or ports there must be in possession of an international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever. A certificate of yellow fever vaccinations is valid for 10 years.

Smallpox: Vaccination is no longer required.

Useful vaccinations are also: protection against tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis A and hepatitis B (very good: combination with TWINRIX) - hepatitis C.

 

 

 

Malaria

Malaria prophylaxis is advisable in the risk areas, in summer / midsummer (...depending on the rainy season and area - from November to June...).
For example, you can find an overview map of the risk areas here:
https://www.sa-venues.com/malaria-risk-areas.htm
Malaria prophylaxis medication is available in pharmacies all across southern Africa. Perfume or after shave lotion should be avoided in malaria areas. When darkness falls: wear long trousers and long sleeves. Use mosquito spray!

Cause and course of the disease:
About 40 different mosquito species of the genus "Anopheles" transmit the parasitic pathogens to humans, usually between dusk and sunrise, to humans. After the maturity stage in the blood cells, the pathogen bursts and breaks down into numerous independent pieces by dividing the nucleus. This process causes the recurrent fever (
tertian or quartan fever) in malaria patients.


Precautionary
measures:
- Protection against mosquito bites is the most important preventive measure against malaria! It is advisable to sleep under a
mosquito net at night and to cover bare parts of the body in vulnerable areas during the day with preferably light khaki clothing and to wear mosquito head protection. Mosquito spray, mosquito ointment or lit incense coils can keep malaria mosquitoes away from you.
- Perethrin is a pyrethrum-based insecticide that can be used to impregnate the mosquito net.
- In addition,
drug malaria prophylaxis (Resochin, Lariam, Paludrine, Malarone or other current medication) should be carried out. It is best to consult your health department or a tropical institute about the currently most effective agent for the travel destination, the dosage or a combination of different medications.

Malaria-free areas include the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Free State and Eastern Cape, the Namib Desert and southern Namibia.


Risk areas with high risk: All year round, intensified November to June: lowlands in the north and east, the Limpopo and the east of Mpulanga (including the national parks) and the coastal area in the northeast of KwaZulu / Natal (Districts Ingwavuma and Ubombo), especially in and after the rainy season (November to June).
Medium risk: Remaining lowlands in the east from KwaZulu / Natal to the south to 29º south latitude, south: (Tugela river) and in the transition zones of the above High risk areas;
Low risk there in the dry season (July to October), in the Kruger Park the risk increases from the west to the east border area to Moçambique.

Current and important information before the trip can be obtained, for example, from the The Hospital for Tropical Diseases / London: https://www.thehtd.org/

Bilharzia / Bilharziosis

This disease is common in the tropics. Approximately 200 million people suffer from it. You can get them by wading and bathing in standing or sluggishly flowing fresh water. Bilharzia is caused by very small suction worms (Schistosomum haematobium), which were discovered by Theodor Bilharz. These tiny worms pierce the skin, enter the abdomen and cause bladder infections as well as intestinal, stomach, kidney and liver diseases. The worm's eggs are excreted by the sick people and reach the intermediate host - a freshwater snail - via the fresh water of ponds, puddles, lakes and slowly flowing waters via a larval stage. This is where the second generation of worm larvae is born, which can get back into the human body via fresh water. The external signs of the disease in an advanced course are: emaciated upper body, bulging belly and congestion in the legs.

Avoid standing water (
fresh water) in tropical regions. Only a few remote regions in southern Africa are affected by Billharzia. Please inquire about possible dangers on site.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

In all countries of the world, visitors from cooler climates in particular are susceptible to various intestinal diseases. However, since typhoid and amoebic dysentery occur very rarely, these are usually only minor bowel diseases that can be remedied quickly with medication. As a preventative measure, you should not consume contaminated water or spoiled food. Raw and undercooked meat, unpeeled fruit, salads, salad dressings with mayonnaise and raw vegetables can lead to intestinal diseases.

In the case of diarrhea, an adequate supply of fluids and electrolytes must always be ensured. Packaged glucose-electrolyte mixtures are commercially available and belong in every travel pharmacy.

You can drink water from all over South Africa from the tap, you do not have to be afraid of salads and other food, everything is clean and hygienic. Where water is not potable - this is explicitly indicated.

Bathing and Swimming in the Sea

When swimming in the ocean, attention must be paid to currents and possible danger from sharks. Popular beaches are very often secured by steel nets; there are also so-called shark guards at the seaside resorts - especially in Natal. However, the risk of shark attacs is very low. So don't spoil your bathing fun and make sure with locals.

A risk that many visitors underestimate again and again is sun exposure. In the southern hemisphere, the sun is much stronger and more intense than what we are used to from Europe. Therefore, make sure that you are not exposed to the sun for too long. Precautions are a good sunscreen with at least sun protection factor 25-30. A good pair of sunglasses, available in any optometrist's shop, helps against UV radiation. A wide-brimmed sun hat has also proven itself against the direct sun. And what applies to adults naturally applies especially to children.

IMPRESSUM © PAARL SAFARIS AND TOURS CC - P.O. Box 315, WELLINGTON, 7654, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, 2020

info@paarl-safari.de