I will be in Tanzania for a year, how to organize vaccines and antimalarial prophylaxis?
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Around mid-July I will have to go to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to work on a one year project on maternal and child health. On April 24th I had Yellow Fever and Typhoid vaccinations and have yet to have Hepatitis A, probably Hepatitis B waiting for antibody count and rabies. Among the recommended there is also cholera. How can I best organize this vaccination framework? Also, what information can you give me regarding malaria prophylaxis since I will be staying in Tanzania for about a year?
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Dear reader, for a trip to Tanzania you need adequate vaccination prevention but in the same way it is important to know how to behave to reduce the risk of getting sick. Since this is a long-term trip, it is necessary to go to a structured travel medicine center, where an infectious disease expert will advise you in more detail. Regarding your writing: The yellow fever vaccine is not generally recommended as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidance, as is the typhoid vaccine, which is available in both injectable and oral form. However, taking into account that these vaccines are 60 to 70% effective in recipients, the measures on eating behavior must be strictly observed. With regard to hepatitis, the vaccine for hepatitis A and hepatitis B are very effective, possibly with a booster.
I have to go on a trip to Africa, which vaccines should I have?
As for the rabies vaccine, however, it should be recommended to those who come close to animals for professional reasons. In any case, if the pre-exposure is carried out with two doses (as per WHO indications) and then there is contact with a potentially rabid animal, another two doses will be required. Also in this case, behavioral rules are fundamental, such as not petting animals. The cholera vaccine is recommended in places where there is real transmission (WHO data) and for operators in refugee camps, but even in this case food hygiene standards remain fundamental. A diphto-tetanus-pertussis-polio booster is also recommended.
Malaria, a new vaccine arrives in Africa: 75 percent effective
by Elisa Manacorda
With regard to antimalarial prophylaxis, awareness of the risk, which exists throughout the year in that country, is fundamental. Behavioral prophylaxis with insect repellents is essential; live in an air-conditioned environment if possible; always use a mosquito net treated with insecticides; dress in long dresses in the evening. In a travel medicine centre, an expert will be able to advise you in detail also on the most appropriate pharmacological prophylaxis, in relation to the exact place of stay and your health conditions, and will be able to decide for a long-term prophylaxis or for a ” self therapy”, as in fact almost all long-stay travelers do, which involves taking therapeutic drugs in case of fever if it is not possible to quickly find medical advice. Furthermore, once on site, it is better to ask a local expert.
* Roberto Ieraci is an infectious disease researcher associated with the CNR vaccination strategies of the Lazio Region
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