Traveling to Kenya

[MamaCare]

So I'm going to be in Kenya (Nairobi/Nakuru) in April, and need to figure out whether/which vaccines I might need. I was vaxed per schedule as a kid, but the was back in the (gasp) 70s. Haven't had a booster in I can't remember when.
Malaria prevention?
Help from any who've BTDT? I'll be there for 10 days.

[Marzipan]

The only thing I got (10 years ago) when I went to Tanzania was Yellow Fever and Hep A (?) The Dr. wrote a wavier for diphtheria. I took Larium for malria prevention. It gave me funky dreams, but had no other side effects. You take your first pill 2 weeks prior to your trip, and then weekly (I think) including for awhile after you get back. Here's the cdc page on malaria drugs: http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html

[Mommainrwanda]

:think I'm pretty sure you'll want to take a malaria prophylaxis for Kenya. Doxycycline and Mefloquine are the two most commonly recommended for Africa. Doxy can have yeast infections as a side effect. Mef has crazy dreams and/or psychosis. :shifty For a short-term trip you shouldn't have a problem with side effects though. ;)

You'll need your yellow fever shot. I know that they check for your yellow card at the airport. DH has seen needles being brought out to vaccinate travelers without the shot. :shiver Best to avoid an on-the-spot shot if possible.

I'm sure it's pretty easy to check for any other required vaccinations from the Kenya side. The CDC will recommend that you stock up on just about everything: Hep A, B, Typhoid, Meningitis etc... I think those things are recommended if it has been a while since your last round of vaccines.

Honestly, I'd look at the places you're visiting (definitely urban) and the type of work you'll be doing (mostly indoors? mostly around street kids? mostly adults?) and judge your risk accordingly. :shrug3

[MamaCare]

Thanks! I'm going to be attending an international conference, we'll be staying on the campus of a university.
The info from the conference has said yellow fever is only required if you're coming from an endemic area.
They recommend tetanus/DtaP, MMR, polio, and flu for everyone. Also to consider Hep A, typhoid, and meningicoccal meningitis.
They also recommend bringing Cipro for infectious diarrhea :sick, as well as the malaria meds.

So, I'm kinda freaking out. I'm a non-vaxer for my kids, and am confident in that decision for their developing bodies in the US.

I do not want to get sick, but it seems like so. much. crap. to put in my body. :shiver

[Mommainrwanda]

Ok, on a university campus? I wouldn't worry about half that stuff. Actually, I, personally, wouldn't worry about any of it. :shrug3 You are very unlikely to come into contact with major diseases in the city. I would only consider you to be at risk if you were working the slums, with street kids or way out in a village.

But that is just my :twocents We live in the capital of Rwanda and have yet to encounter anything "vaccine preventable." I don't worry about it unless we go outside of town. :shrug3

[domesticzookeeper]

I've had Cipro recommended for every. single. trip. I've taken, and in over a decade I've never needed it :shrug3 And that was while doing far more hands-on stuff (working with kids, sick folks, in rural areas, etc) In fact I've never suffered from anything more than a mild cold, and *that* was because a little boy shared my water bottle without me realizing it :doh

Those sound like pretty standard recommendations; because I have done more intensive activities, I've gotten most of those vaccines, but in your situation I really wouldn't be stressing about them :shrug3

In other words: what Mommainrwanda said :giggle

[mama_mimi]

We've only been to Mozanmique but the vax recommendations were the same as you mentioned. Make your own depending on what you're doing there and how you'll be interacting with people but I didn't get any vax. On our first trip which was just a few weeks we took doxi. On our second trip we were there for several months. And I was pregnant. We stayed in an orphanage both times. Opposite ends of the country. Interacted closely with the people and stayed in the bush in tents on some weekends. We were there durin winter (less rainy) both times. The second and longer trip we didn't take anything for malaria but did other precautions instead (covered up at night, slept under net, stayed indoors after dusk and before dawn as much as possible, used natural repellents). We know other people there that got malaria though, as well as other things.

---------- Post added at 05:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:46 AM ----------

My opinion that you didn't ask for regarding vax are that if you decide to take them, you're more equipped to handle them than our little ones are. But then again plenty of adults do experience some side effects.

Either way DO get travelers insurance!!! :) and say hello to Africa for me! I miss it so.

[Mommainrwanda]

Wanted to update my travel information since I just went through Kenya customs two days ago. :grin

Apparently the check for yellow fever cards is hit-or-miss. We technically needed them since we were coming from Rwanda, but they didn't check. I think you are right, though, about not needing one if you are only coming from the States.

At this moment the thing I think you should watch out for is MSG. :giggle I've been finding it in a lot of the food from the cheaper Indian/Chinese restaurants in town. That's wrecking my digestion more than anything else.

Also have yet to see any mosquitoes...

[Annainprogress]

Kenya is definitely malarial but whether it's a time of year that there will be a lot of mosquitoes around I don't know.

I'm surprised the cdc don't have BCG on their list, not that you're likely to need it for a university conference...