Vaccinations before traveling to Africa – when and what to get vaccinated for?

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Foreign trips enjoy unflagging popularity. Today, more and more people decide to go on trips to exotic countries such as Africa. However, it should be remembered that a trip to Africa is associated with the need to make appropriate vaccinations, which will protect us against tropical diseases popular in this region.

Africa is a place worth seeing. The trip itself is not a big problem anymore, but staying there is associated with a high risk of developing various serious tropical diseases. They should not be underestimated, so doctors recommend specific vaccinations that can prevent the disease. Find out what diseases you should get vaccinated against before going to Africa.

What diseases can be found on the African continent?

In African countries, the greatest threats are tetanus, yellow fever, hepatitis B, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A, cholera, meningococcal infections and cholera. Due to differences in climate, Poles are not immune to these diseases. Unfortunately, the risk of getting sick in Africa is very high due to the low level of hygiene and poor sanitary conditions in African countries. Vaccinations before going to Africa are therefore a must.

What doctor should I see before going to Africa?

Before we fly to Africa, you should see a travel medicine doctor. This specialist will provide you with all the information you need about compulsory and recommended vaccinations. In addition, they can give you specific advice to help you avoid getting sick. They concern both maintaining an appropriate level of hygiene, methods of preparing meals and methods of protection against animals and insects.

Vaccinations can take a long time as many of them have several stages. So before we set the date of departure, let’s consult a travel medicine doctor who will help to establish a vaccination schedule. Usually vaccinations last about 4-6 weeks.

Worth reading: Vaccinations – facts and myths

What vaccinations should I take before going to Africa?

Before leaving, remember to make all the necessary vaccinations in advance, thanks to which we will be safe during the trip. Depending on the place to which we are going, we have to make other vaccinations:

1. tetanus – you should get vaccinated against the disease when traveling to any part of Africa;
2. diphtheria – you should get vaccinated against the disease when traveling to any part of Africa;
3. Hepatitis A – you should get vaccinated against the disease when traveling to any part of Africa;
4. typhoid fever – vaccination should be performed when traveling to any part of Africa;
5. poliomyelitis – vaccinate against the disease before leaving for Angola, Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Congo, Liberia, Mali , Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia;
6. meningococcal infections – you should get vaccinated against the disease when you go to Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Central African Republic, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire;
7. cholera – vaccinate the disease before leaving for Angola, Benin, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Kenya, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger , South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Zimbabwe;
8. Hepatitis B – vaccination should be performed before leaving for any region of Africa;
9. cholera – vaccination against cholera is necessary when going to Angola, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates;
10. yellow fever – the risk of developing yellow fever is highest when traveling to Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Gabon, Ghana, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone , St. Sao Tome and Principe, Togo, Ivory Coast; vaccination recommended for departure to Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.

Good to know: When not to vaccinate a child? Contraindications to vaccinations

What is yellow fever vaccination?

Yellow fever is also known as yellow fever. It is a dangerous infectious tropical disease caused by the RNA-containing yellow fever virus belonging to the flaviviridae family. The disease can take many forms, ranging from mild flu-like to severe hemorrhagic fever, which is fatal in half of the cases. Jaundice can also be observed in some patients. The disease can be caught both from another human (urban form of the disease) and from monkeys (forest form). In the second case, the disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, because yellow fever is a vector disease. You can also catch the disease through breastfeeding. It is also possible blood-borne infection and blood transfusion. The disease hatch in 3-6 days.

Vaccination against yellow fever is compulsory in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Congo, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire . A vaccination certificate may be required for these countries. Otherwise, use the vaccine for your own safety. Vaccination should be entered in the WHO yellow record.

The live, attenuated yellow fever virus is contained in the vaccine. The contraindication to administration of the vaccine is hypersensitivity to egg proteins, immunodeficiency, immunosuppressive treatment and neoplastic diseases. The vaccine should also not be given to children under 9 months of age.

The vaccine is administered in 1 dose at least 10 days before departure. No booster vaccines are needed. It is very effective and gives protection for 20 years.

The price is about PLN 200.

Good to know: Post-vaccination fever – how to proceed?

What is the meningococcal vaccine?

Invasive meningococcal disease is a severe infectious disease. It is a severe systemic bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis disease. The disease may take the form of severe meningococcal sepsis with shock and endovascular coagulation syndrome. The most common symptoms are sepsis or meningitis and encephalitis. It happens that a patient develops sepsis and meningitis at the same time.

Vaccinations for meningococcal disease are recommended especially during the dry season, i.e. from December to June. Please note that this is not a compulsory vaccination, but it should be done for your own safety.

The vaccine contains oligosaccharides of the cell membrane. Children under 12 months of age or 11 years of age, depending on the type of vaccine administered, should not be vaccinated. It is given in one dose 1 month before departure, and then repeated up to 5 years to maintain protection. It has a high efficiency of 80-92%.

The price is about PLN 200-400 for one dose.

What is the rabies vaccine?

Rabies is a serious, acute zoonotic disease. During her time, encephalitis develops. It is caused by a viral infection, which usually occurs after a person is bitten by a sick animal. Less commonly, the cause may be contact with the animal’s saliva. For contamination to occur, saliva would have to enter human mucosa or damaged skin. If left untreated, the disease is fatal.

The vaccine is not compulsory, but is recommended for selected patients. However, it should be remembered that vaccination is always a matter of our safety during the trip. The vaccines are safe and contain killed rabies viruses. A contraindication to vaccination is hypersensitivity to neomycin, streptomycin and polymyxin B, as well as eggs.

The vaccine is given in 3 doses. The next dose is 7 days later, followed by 21 or 28 days later. The first booster dose is given one year later. The vaccine is very effective (approx. 98-99%) and protection lasts up to 5 years.

The price for the vaccine is about PLN 150-200.

Good to know: What reactions can be expected after vaccination?

What is the cholera vaccine?

Cholera is a digestive disease that is contagious in nature. It is caused by the cholera strain. Infection can occur by eating food or water that is contaminated with the bacteria. The disease is very serious and acute. Its main symptoms are abdominal pain and vomiting. Over time, the skin begins to wrinkle and the voice changes color. Untreated cholera is a fatal disease.

The current vaccine is recommended for people traveling to Africa. In its composition you can find a live, attenuated bacterium. Children should not be vaccinated before the age of 2 and in cases of acute gastroenteritis.

The vaccine is administered in two doses, at least 7 days apart, but the second dose should be administered at least 7 days before departure. Its effectiveness is about 85% and in the case of adults, protection lasts about 2 years.

The price is about PLN 100 for one dose.

What is the vaccination against hepatitis A?

Hepatitis A is a fairly common disease. It accounts for almost half of all viral hepatitis cases. The disease is spread through dirty hands and infected food. These viruses spread very easily through their resistance to, for example, alcohol. For this reason, the disease is also called dirty hands disease or food jaundice.

Vaccination is safe and very effective. It contains inactive or killed viruses. Hypersensitivity to neomycin is a contraindication. The vaccine should also not be given to children under 1 year of age. The first dose of the vaccine should be administered at least 14 days before departure, while a supplementary dose should be given after about 6-12 months. It is not necessary to give booster doses of the vaccine as protection lasts many years. The effectiveness of the vaccine is around 95-99%.

The price is about PLN 200.

Check: Do Doctors Recommend Flu Vaccination?

What are the characteristics of vaccination against hepatitis B?

Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver that can lead to the development of cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. You can become a carrier of the disease as a result of infection. The infection can also occur intrauterine and in the perinatal period. The disease hatch in about 60-90 days, but the incubation period may last up to 6 months.

This vaccination is not compulsory, but it is worth doing for our safety. The vaccine contains a purified surface antigen. There are no contraindications to its implementation. It is given in 3 different schemes:

1. 3 doses – a second dose with an interval of 1 month and a third dose after 6 months;
2. 4 doses – the second dose 1 month apart, the third dose 2 months and the fourth dose 12 months;
3. 4 doses – in a rapid schedule: consecutive doses 7 days apart for the second dose, 21 days for the third dose and 12 months for the fourth dose.

The effectiveness of the vaccine after three doses is about 97-99%. After vaccination, we obtain many years of immunity.

The price is about PLN 100.

What is polio vaccination?

Polio is a dangerous infectious disease caused by three different types of polio viruses in the enterovirus family. These viruses can lead to muscle paralysis and permanent disability. The infection occurs via the fecal-oral route. Other names for polio are widespread infantile paralysis, common anterior horn inflammation, and Heine-Medin disease.

People who had been vaccinated against polio more than 10 years earlier should be vaccinated before traveling to Africa. The so-called booster vaccination. Vaccination for polio is especially recommended for people going to Nigeria, Kenya, Sudan, Chad, Congo, Cameroon and Angola.

The vaccine contains inactive or killed poliovirus. Contraindication to vaccine administration is hypersensitivity to neomycin, streptomycin and polymyxin B. Vaccination is performed in 3 doses with an interval of 1-2 months. This vaccination gives 10 years of protection. After this time, it is worth taking a booster dose of the vaccine. Polish recommendations suggest one booster dose every 1 years, while the American recommendations one dose once a lifetime to maintain lasting protection against the disease.

The price of the vaccine is about PLN 100-150.

What is the diphtheria and tetanus vaccine?

Diphtheria and tetanus are serious infectious diseases. Diphtheria is also known as diphtheria. It is caused by the coryneform bacteria diphtheria. It is a serious disease leading to laryngitis. As a result, breathing difficulties appear, and the heart and nerves are damaged. Despite treatment, the disease is fatal in 10-20% of cases.

Tetanus is caused by the tetanus rod, which produces a very strong poison. The source of infection is soil, dust, silt or various dirty objects. Bacteria enter the body through damaged skin. In the course of the disease, there are strong and long-lasting muscle contractions, which can even lead to fractures, convulsions, nerve damage, breathing disorders or consciousness. The disease has a high mortality rate.

Vaccination against diphtheria and tetanus should be repeated after 10 years. If we go to Africa, after this period, it is necessary to repeat the vaccination. The vaccine includes diphtheria toxoid administered in vaccines together with tetanus toxoid. There are no contraindications for the administration of the vaccine. According to the schedule, 1 vaccination dose is given every 10 years. In unvaccinated individuals, the vaccine is given according to the schedule: 0, 1 month, 6-12 months.

The effectiveness of the vaccine is very high and the protection lasts 10 years. The price of the vaccine is about PLN 50.

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