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Type 2 Tanzania...zanzibar And A Whole Schew Of Vaccinations! Really?

Ellit

Active Member
Messages
39
Location
Suffolk
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Having just booked an amazing holiday i duly filled in the travel form at my gp surgery so i could start the process of getting vacvinated in time.
I was asked to see the nurse yesterday and need your advice on what i do.
There are 4 vaccines she will give me...hepA..typhoid...tetanus...mmr.
Then there is malaria tablets that i know i must have.
But then we get the grey areas....well you are classed as high risk because of diabetes and thyroid so really need to think about having...meningitis...rabies....yellow fever...and hep B! All of which i have to pay for at an average cost of £60 each.

So...what have others done in these circumstances? I'm going to Tanzania and Zanzibar..safari for 6 days...hotel for 6 days.Started insulin 6 weeks ago.

Any suggestions please?
 

Hello there Ellit.

Before getting into your post, could I suggest you update your profile details? Your profile suggests you are still taking Gliclazide, but no mention I can see of insulin?



Moving on though, of the 4 vaccines your nurse will give you, the first three are basic vaccinations that really should be kept up to date, whether travelling or not, and once a curse has been given that "last" a long time. As a child I had all three measles, mumps and rubella, and rubella again a second time in my late 20s. As a younger person I got everything!

For the balance, I've had Hep B and Yellow fever, without issue, but decided to swerve the rabies jab several times. I've never considered meningitis.

When going somewhere new the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website makes good, informative reading: https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/220/tanzania#Vaccine_recommendations as does the Travel Health Network: https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/220/tanzania#Vaccine_recommendations
 
There are a couple of sites, that I have consulted, when travelling to exotic places, Fit for Travel and Masta. There are others. Look very carefully at the advice given. Are you actually going to the part of the country that has malaria? What sort of holiday are you going on, a week in a posh hotel, or a months back packing with working on a farm as one of the activities. In other words, assess your own risk. Also look at the side effects of the drugs concerned, balance things out.
Yes, you feel like a pin cushion after you've had your jabs, but many of them last for years, so if you do more, similar travel, you won't have to repeat some.
Sally
 
Just so you know, a few of the vaccines you mentioned, you need more than one dose of and they will be priced per dose, for example Rabies you need 3 doses so if it is £60 it will be £180, Hepatitis B you also need 3 doses, just something for you to consider.
Also there is a worldwide shortage of Hep B vaccines so you'd need to make sure you are able to get those if you decide you do need them.
Boots have some useful information about vaccines and the costs etc https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy-advice/vaccinations/travel-vaccination-health-advice-service
 
You need to check with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website as suggested by DCUKMod.
Some countries won't let you in without certain vaccination certificates.
As you are going on Safari (you lucky, lucky person) you need to think very carefully. What you do not want is to catch Rabies from a bite or scratch from an infected animal, which includes harmless looking dogs.

My grandson spent 6 weeks in Namibia working on a reserve and had the whole lot, although not sure about meningitis.
 

If your grandson is of Uni age-ish, he may have had the meningitis vaccine already.
 
When in the RAF I was on the instant readiness force as such would be flown out to any part of the world at a time of disater or need so had every vaccination known to medicine and was glad of it. Easy for me to say but the cost should be secondary to the consequences of not having the necessary vaccinations.
 
I do agree with @JohnEGreen.
But.
My surgery says some vaccines are on prescription. The only 2 I think may not be on prescription are yellow fever and rabies. Unsure of malaria tablets. But this would cut the cost tremendously. I would write them all down and ask somebody - ?who, so you can work out costs exactly. Good luck!
 
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