Tanzania Health Care and Vaccinations

Before leaving home, visit the doctor or a travel clinic for advice on vaccinations, malaria prophylactics and general advice. Basic traveller vaccinations recommended include yellow fever, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis A. It is vital to take out comprehensive travel medical insurance, and it is essential that is should include repatriation to your home country in the event of an emergency. There are a wide variety of policies to choose from, so shop around. If you are going to be active in Tanzania (mountain climbing or scuba-diving for example), ensure the policy has adequate provision.

There are some good private hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Stone Town on Zanzibar, but facilities are rudimentary outside of these and medicines are often unavailable. All treatment must be paid for in advance. Tanzania’s emergency telephone number (ambulance, fire and police) is 111. The best private hospital in the country is the Aga Khan Hospital, Ocean Road, Dar es Salaam, (tel: (022) 211 5151; www.agakhanhospitals.org). However, for cases of extreme emergencies or surgery, visitors with adequate health insurance will be transferred to a private hospital in Nairobi, Kenya which has the best medical facilities in East Africa.

Malaria: The risk of contracting malaria is prevalent throughout Tanzania and prophylactics should be taken (take expert advice before you leave home). Symptoms can start as something resembling a severe attack of flu. If you develop any symptoms even after several weeks after your return home, seek medical advice. Travellers should take precautions against mosquito bites – cover-up at dusk and use insect repellent. Almost all hotels in Tanzania have air-conditioning and/or fans which help ward off mosquitoes and most tourist-class hotels have mosquito nets over the beds.

Diarrhea: A visit abroad puts you at an increased risk of getting diarrhea, there is no point in denying it. Easy Travel advises you to include appropriate medicines to combat this in your first-aid kit.

Tsetse Flies: the tsetse fly can be found throughout Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, the most popular part of Tanzania for visitors. Certain areas are particularly popular with the tsetse (as well as with visitors. These are the forested parts of Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park. Potentially, a tsetse fly bite is extremely dangerous. Its bite can result in symptoms such as an unpleasant fever, fatigue, swelling to the lymphnodes, headache, fatigue and aching joints and muscles. A severe rash on the skin is also a possibility. Tsetse flies can also carry a very dangerous parasite which can cause something called “human African trypanosomiasis” (or “sleeping sickness.” Sadly, this can often be fatal without the correct treatment.

While there is no way of completely protecting yourself against the tsetse fly, there are nevertheless several things you can do to try and avoid being bitten by the tsetse fly and other annoying insects while in Tanzania. Your choice of clothing is important: choose long-sleeved shirts to cover your arms and long trousers (pants) to protect your legs. Even the colour of what you wear can play a part, as dark and bright colours are favoured by the tsetse fly. Instead, go for beige, olive-coloured or white clothes to minimize the risk of getting bitten. And although no insect repellent is guaranteed to be 100% effective, we at Easy Travel recommend visitors to bring repellent with them and use it. Keeping out of bushes and other wooded areas is another useful tip.

Altitude sickness: This can strike from about 3,000m (9,800ft) and is caused by lack of oxygen and should be a consideration for anyone climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Symptoms include heart pounding, shortness of breath and dizziness. The best way of preventing it is a relatively slow ascent – some time spent walking at medium altitude, getting fit and acclimatizing is helpful. To decrease the symptoms, an immediate descent is necessary.