Medical Advice: Regarding Immunizations for Kenya Trip

[Best Man]

Originally Posted by PrivatePractice

I am getting mixed opinions on this, so I thought I would run it by mashada for additional opinions.

Regarding the Yellow Fever Immunization, it cost $150.00 plus a $50.00 appointment fee, and it is not covered by insurance. I am told I can get the shot in Kenya for cheap, but others are telling me the shot may not be real and/or needles are sometimes boiled there.

Any one with advice? Is it safe to get it there or should I cough up the money and pay for it here? I really don't want to put out the extra 200.00, if it is fine to get in Kenya.
Any additional info on shots to get or not to get prior to my trip is appreciated too. Thanks.

***I have to get the Yellow Fever Immunization or I can not enter back into the USA until I have it.

Travelling to Kenya,You should be more concerned about thugs than mosquitoes and pests.

Buy a crush helmet. It will protect your head from mungiki as well as from mosquitos.

If you can buy pepper spray. Works well against thugs and pests.

Buy a Magnum pistol.
You can conceal it under your suit case. Bribe the nosy immigration guy with $10.

Bullet-proof vest. Works well against police stray bullets.

In a nut shell, whether you will be living in Muthaiga, Kibera, Ngomomongo, or Lavington, Chances of encountering thugs are way up compared to a mosquito bite.

[Best Man]

Originally Posted by Swahilijoe

Why does a nigger need to be immunized before he goes back to the motherland? Yellow Fever, Menigitis na kadhalika....nigger please...and whats this upuzi of boiled needles...the world has developed my friend...they use hypodermic needles which are a one time thing.Just take your malaria tablets before you go.....$13 without insurance is cheaper than risking...just talk to your PCP and they will write you a prescription.
And stop the f-cking mentality that Africa is a jungle where diseases float in the air...the last person i heard getting a Yellow fever was my grandfather(RIP) in the 60's.

I agree.
This nigger's doctor must be old school.

Anyone born and brought up in sub-saharan Africa develops a natural immunity toward YF.

Nigger go home! stop this crap!.
Ask you parents when they lasy heard that vaccination.

Chances are that they do not know of such a vaccination.

Nigger, you should be thinking about getting HIV vaccination not none existing Yellow fever.

[msema ukweli Kabisa]

lol aki peeps, Again PP is an Italian american lady going for a Vac to Kenya

[Devine]

Originally Posted by msema ukweli Kabisa

lol aki peeps, Again PP is an Italian american lady going for a Vac to Kenya

kwani she's not? Si she's Almasi/sugarNspice/That Gal and I don't know how many others. I stand corrected .

Gosh I miss sweet bananas

[Type R]

There is too much misinformation in this thread. Some of it comes from defensiveness, some of it comes from people who have been out of Kenya for too long, the rest comes from general ignorance -- eg people who don't know how international epidemic alerts work.

I am not a dcotor or public health specialist but at least let me try and justify my positions:

Originally Posted by Swahilijoe

Just take your malaria tablets before you go.....$13 without insurance is cheaper than risking...just talk to your PCP and they will write you a prescription.

This is wrong! Malaria has evolved and continues to evolve. Local doctors are best to consult because they are on the cutting edge of the latest collective approach to dealing with the problem. Doctor's attend regular seminars thru which they keep up with local trends. A doctor in New York or Paris will definitely prescribe a generic medication for which the Anopheles may have developed a resistance.

Originally Posted by Swahilijoe

...the world has developed my friend...

In Kenya, "development" tends to focus around urban areas. Some mzungus go straight to ushago from Jomo Kenyatta Airport. They will not have a chance to see a quality doctor in Aga Khan, Mater Hospital or even KNH for that matter. I would not count out a self-made medical practitioner fronting as a "doctor" in Manga Village taking shortcuts. I wouldn't be surprised if sNs does not spend one night in Nbi.

Originally Posted by Swahilijoe

...the last person i heard getting a Yellow fever was my grandfather(RIP) in the 60's.

Anyone born and brought up in sub-saharan Africa develops a natural immunity toward YF.....Ask you parents when they lasy heard that vaccination.

Chances are that they do not know of such a vaccination.
Stop reading 1970's science journals or visiting Octogenerian American doctors.

The info you have is outdated.

Anybody who is born and brought up in sub saharan Africa develop a natural immunity towards YFV (yellow fever Virus). (Ref: World Health Organization)

Secondly, It is no longer a requirement to have YF vaccination, whether you are coming or going to the USA.

Yellow fever vaccination was a requirement in the 70's and 80's. Not today.

That was an disinformation extravaganza!!!!

I had the same attitude as the above posters and I learned the hard way. I was in Nigeria with a forged yellow fever vaccination card. The WHO reported an outbreak in West Africa and when I got back to JKIA, the police were seriously scrutinising our cards. I almost slept at the airport!!!

All that is required is just a perception of risk, not an actual case that your grandfather can remember (that's not how governments run their business & formulate policy -- "does your granny remember such a case?"). The infection may be hiding in wild animals, with humans waiting for a mosquito bite.

In any case, the reason your grandpa has not heard of a case of YF is because action has been taken, not because of complacency -- avoid defeatist arguments.

When Almasi returns to USA, her gov will rely on information such as these:

The vast majority of cases and deaths take place in sub-Saharan Africa, where yellow fever is a major public health problem occurring in epidemic patterns. Africa also experiences periodic yet unpredictable outbreaks of urban yellow fever. Thirty-two African countries are now considered at risk of yellow fever, with a total population of 610 million people, among which more than 219 million live in urban settings.

Yellow fever occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America (Maps 2-3 and 2-4), where it is endemic and intermittently epidemic (see Table 2-12 for a list of countries with risk of yellow fever transmission).

When the CDC and WHO declare a risk, who are some small mashadites to question?????

[Type R]

Originally Posted by Best Man

Nigger, you should be thinking about getting HIV vaccination ----

Not such a crazy idea after all!!

Originally Posted by Devine

Have you thought of international health insurance?

I second that!! That saved me once upon a time!!

Also, due to poor sanitation and inadequate (safe) drinking water back home, Hep A, typhoid and cholera vaccines would not be a bad idea.

I second that too!!!!!

In a nut shell, whether you will be living in Muthaiga, Kibera, Ngomomongo, or Lavington, Chances of encountering thugs are way up compared to a mosquito bite.

Bullet-proof vest. Works well against police stray bullets.

Hysteria!! Kenya is much safer than the US. Our murder rate (ie per 10,000 people) is say one-tenth that of US. Mosquito bites are common.

About Kenya not having malaria above a certain altitude, global warming has changed all that! Anopheles is now comfortable in Nairobi and doctors no longer ask whether you have "travelled upcountry" when you report headaches, dry mouth and fever.

[Swahilijoe]

Siasa gani hii? PP is a nyeuthi...Italian American my ass..talking about Italian i need a Cannoli...PP, ho bisogno di un cannoli.Avete bisogno di uno?

[msema ukweli Kabisa]

Originally Posted by Devine

kwani she's not? Si she's Almasi/sugarNspice/That Gal and I don't know how many others. I stand corrected .

Gosh I miss sweet bananas

Lol devine that is Sns but people as busy calling her nigger hehehehehe

[A.M Nafusi]

Originally Posted by Type R

This is wrong! Malaria has evolved and continues to evolve. Local doctors are best to consult because they are on the cutting edge of the latest collective approach to dealing with the problem. Doctor's attend regular seminars thru which they keep up with local trends.


When the CDC and WHO declare a risk, who are some small mashadites to question?????

Hebu Zuzua them. This mama is claiming that she has never been to Africa, thats why she needs the YF shot. Inafaa aperembwe huko Jamhuri kidogo.

Doxycycline and Chloroquine for malaria? Even leisure reading asserts that it is so yesterday.

With all the quack chemists/pharmacies in Kenya, you might be given kill me quicks for malaria.

Halfan did it's havoc back in the day.

[PrivatePractice]

Thanks guys for all the helpful information. At least, I have a lot of info to ponder before I make my decision. I will let you guys know how I ended up doing it.

Thanks Type R for correcting the miss information, I was starting to get confused.

Kill P, good to know that there is a place in the airport and pharmacies are 24-7 there. I had no idea.


Thanks again everyone