Diseases in South America??
 

Well, Africa is loaded with Malaria, yellow fever, liver parasites, ad inf. In reading as many postings as possible about south america, I have the impression, perhaps wrongly so, that most of the worry about S.A. is banditry, rainy season, and a few stretchs of uncomfortable road. PLEASE, if I am dead wrong, enlighten me. We are trying to prepare for most problems and doing the research helps, but direct answers from people who have either knowledge or experience with actual versus possible problems would speed the research process. i am posting my regular email because I have taken some part time work to compensate for the 49billion profit Mobil declared for Q1, the 17 billion for BP, Standard>>>>>>>>>>>. My trip has increased 15% in the last 5 months because of petrol. gotta love politicians.

health guide to SA
 

Hindu, check out in the Lonely planet range, their "Healthy guide to Central & South America" book. Small book but very informative. I bought it the 1st time I went over there.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/product...377?affil=lphe

thank you maria, will do that. we have started a physical fitness program to get these old bodies in better condition. part of the job is to make sure we have the medicines, vaccinations, but more importantly, to be prepared for what could be. once we begin the trip we will intend to eat well, exercise some, and ride the world without returning home until we have made the circle. what it looks like now is about 70,000 miles. rubber side down

joe

Go to http://www.cdc.gov There is also a list of vaccination centers. You will need your shots and some required more than one over time as I just discovered :(

thank you verymuch jsherm. this site is complete and has everything except the duration of the shots. i know that some of them will need boosters before the 30 month trip is complete. it will take two years to get to east timor and probably another two months in australia and then on to korea by air. some time there and back to Oregon. not worried much about australia but think boosters might be needed is s.e. asia.

agan, thanks for the tip

j

Hepetitis B has two booster shots, one at 1 month and the third at 5 months. Check with a doctor, of course.

Permethryn
 

The best protection is not to be bitten by anything. Lots of horrible deseases than have no vaccine, are transmitted by bugs.

You may want to treat some of your clothes with Permethryn (not on cotton though!). Mosquitoes in SA are voracious and CAN bite despite long sleeves/cover + mosquito repellent. The mosquito repellent just make them desorientated, but I have been bitten many times despite being covered and literally bathing on "Jungle formula".
However, permethryn is an insecticide. Once treated it stick to clothes for some time so you can wash them few times. It will protect against most bugs.
Do not use on your skin, only to treat clothes. Cheap and very efficient.

Hello again Maria,

Your advice is well taken although I am responding somewhat late. We are in the final weeks of the semester and it is always hectic. Not enough time to check the site out completely, and had to get the idiot hand worked over again. It often decides to loosen the wires that move the fingers, and while that normally means I type with one hand, slowly and don't use uppercase letters, occasionally, it means a trip to the hospital to get the screws tightened back down. Advice: never get your arm cut off. It can be a real nuisance.

The peremytheon you mentioned: is it less damaging to the system than DEET? DEET is really bad for the body, but most of the time keeps the bugs away. Skin-so-soft by Avon will keep the normal Alaskan mozzies away. We have thought about carrying one of the advertised personal electric bug zappers. Do you know of anyone who has tried them? Take care, thank you again. ride well.

j

Bug repelent
 

Camping on the Mackenzie river outside of fort simpson the skin so soft stuff didn't work for me. I also react to the deet stuff. I have found that long sleeves, gloves and mosquito headnet to be the ticket. Those hungry bugs even hang on at 60mph till you stick your head out from behind the windsield.

Permethrin
 

Hi again Hindu!

I found this very informative article on Permethrin and DEET:

http://www.travmed.com/trip_prep/insect_permethrin.htm

Should answer all your questions there!

Note for example that mosquito nets are treated with Permethrin. I retreat mine every 2 years by buying a bottle of permethrin down my local outdoor shop. Just be careful to follow instructions carefully (use gloves) ...
And I think I read somewhere it can damage cotton but not sure, but it is ideal when treating lower legs of trousers and over shirts.
Lost of horrible bugs in the jungles and lower lands in SA that do not care about DEET and can bite and carry horrible deseases!

Take care and keep us posted!
I'm so jaleous you're on your way! Still 10 months to go for me before my South American dream can start! =:-)

so true Bill. Alaskan mozzies are bigger, stronger, faster than others and kryptonite won't even slow them down. We worked on Zarembo Island out of Wrangell and it was so bad that two of them attacked one of the cutters and stole his 084 Stihl chainsaw. Two days later we saw them using the saw to cut their way into the chicken house. What happened then was not pretty, but we were without eggs for two months. skin so soft is only good for the young ones. the mature ones require a .338 win Magnum, but roasted over a large pit fire, they make a nice barbeque.

Good stuff on the site Maria. Permethrin seems like a good solution, and when combined with a small amount of DEET, should lessen the worries about disease to the point where it is only a passing thought. Your idea of soaking the nets, the tent flaps, and so on is good. We also learned in our logging days that a sheet of Bounce carried in an exposed shirt pocket kept the horseflies and yellowjackets away.

Vaccinations and prophylaxis for visitors to lesser developed tropical regions generally fall into two categories: 1) 'Childhood' type vaccinations that you probably got already as a kid growing up in North America or Western Europe, but which need to be renewed, and; 2) Vaccinations against diseases that are not normally encountered in North America or Europe.

Concerning the first group, you can get all this done with your family doctor, you don't need to visit a travel clinic. You should review your vaccination history for the following items:

Typhus
Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio
Measles, Mumps, and (for women) Rubella

I believe that healthy adults need to get booster shots periodically to maintain a level of immunity against these diseases. We don't bother doing it as long as we are living in a developed country, because there is not much risk of getting these diseases in developed countries.

The second group comprises vaccinations that are normally not provided as a matter of routine to North American and European residents. These include:

Yellow Fever (not much risk of getting it, wherever you go, but having proof of vaccination is an entry requirement to many countries)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Meningitis

For the above, you may need to visit a specialist clinic.

Prophylaxis against malaria will vary depending on where you are going. The current 'wonder drug' for malaria prophylaxis is Malarone - it works almost everywhere, but it is quite expensive. I spent all of May in East Africa, and took Malarone as malaria prophylaxis. I'm going to Uruguay and Brazil next week, and the physician at my company travel clinic told me that I should take Malarone there as well.

There are other, less expensive prophylaxis for Malaria, but they require a longer 'pre-loading' regime before visiting the affected area, and a more careful review of exactly what type of malaria is present in the area you are travelling to.

If you're not going to the rain forest (Amazonia) surely you don't have to worry.

Patontrip (now offtrip!), where are you? I met this guy who sometimes swims with his motorcycle (It's a KLR and a strong swimmer!). He caught malaria in the Amazon region and might have a few very good ideas as to which prophylaxis to take if you're going to be in that area. Patricio is probably sleeping now as we spent most of last night trying to destroy the parasites in his liver the hard way. Sleep well buddy, Dave. (Javier, go tickle his feet- or let the cats do it!)