With the July school holidays fast approaching, many people will be looking forward to enjoying a well-earned break from work. Many of us, however, forget that there can be health hazards associated with travel and that we should properly prepare for these if we don’t want them to spoil our holiday.
This is the view of Dr Pete Vincent of Netcare Travel Clinics and Medicross Tokai, in Cape Town. He points out that certain areas pose specific medical risks to travellers, such as malaria, yellow fever, hepatitis, rabies, tetanus, Ebola, influenza or meningitis. We can take precautions against contracting many of these diseases through vaccination, prophylactic medication and by taking proper precautions when it comes to food and water intake.
Dr Vincent reports that there has been a diphtheria outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal with, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), 13 suspected cases including five deaths. This is due to non-adherence to South Africa’s Expanded Programme of Immunisation [EPI].
It is very important that all adult travellers consider a booster dose of a one-in-four vaccine that combines life long immunity for diphtheria, polio and whooping cough, as well as providing ten years cover for tetanus.
“Internationally, Guinea and Sierra Leone remain high risk areas for Ebola and are best avoided. Yellow fever is prevalent in certain tropical areas of Africa and South America and travellers are required by law to be inoculated when travelling to these countries. It is very important to visit a Travel Clinic which can advise on your risk of exposure and whether a yellow fever vaccine is indicated,” says Dr Vincent.
Dr Vincent advises travellers to do their research on the possible healthcare risks associated with their holiday destinations so that they can take all the necessary precautions to ensure they remain healthy while on holiday.
“Your local travel clinic will be able to keep you up to date regarding local and international healthcare issues and should recommend steps you can take to protect the health of you and your family,” he notes.
