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Traveling through or from Nigeria? Don't forget your yellow fever immunization |
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Written by Brent Friedrichs
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Friday, 14 November 2008 |
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As you know, yellow fever immunization is a requirement for arrival into Nigeria, as for several other countries. A situation that caught my wife and I bit off guard was when we arrived into the Johannesburg International airport and, as we handed our passports to the controller, she asked for our vaccination cards and proof that we had current yellow fever vaccinations. The officials clearly were not going to hand back our passports until we showed them the cards. This surprised us, as we had traveled to South Africa many times before but had never been asked to present our vaccination cards. Fortunately, we happened to have them with us, so avoided the line-up and exorbitant cost of getting re-immunized at the airport. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 14 November 2008 )
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Why is rabies vaccine recommended for travelers to Nigeria? |
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Written by Mike Blyth
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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Rabies is definitely present in Nigeria, even in cities. There have been cases where pets have developed rabies in compounds where missionaries live, and even in the homes of missionaries. Someone who is exposed to rabies and has not been previously immunized is supposed to be given human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) immediately, along with 5 doses of rabies vaccine over one month. A previously immunized person only needs two booster doses and no HRIG. HRIG is pre-formed human antibodies to rabies that can go right to work against the rabies virus without waiting for the person to respond to a vaccine by producing his own antibodies. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 )
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What about malaria and how to prevent it? |
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Written by Mike Blyth
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Monday, 09 April 2007 |
Malaria is a serious disease and, perhaps after traffic accidents, the biggest risk to travelers in West Africa. Before coming here, you should be familiar with malaria and how to prevent it. For starters, see Health Information for Travelers to Nigeria published by the US Centers for Disease Control. This is the authoritative site as far as the US is concerned. Information given by physicians is not always in line with these guidelines, or may be misunderstood, so it's important to read the CDC guidelines and ask your doctor if there are points that need to be clarified.
See the Patient Information Page on malaria from JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 02 January 2009 )
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How long should I take malaria prophylaxis after leaving Nigeria? |
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Written by Mike Blyth
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Sunday, 01 April 2007 |
It is important to continue taking your malaria prophylaxis drug after you leave the area where malaria occurs, because the parasite may still be in your blood and could cause malaria weeks or months after you return home.
Recommendation from the US Centers of Disease Control: Travelers should be advised to start chemoprophylaxis before travel and to use prophylaxis continuously while in malaria-endemic areas and after leaving malaria areas - 4 weeks for doxycycline, or mefloquine
- 7 days for Malarone (atovaquone/proguanil) or primaquine
(CDC Yellow Book, Malaria)
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 )
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What about bird flu (avian influenza H5N1) in Nigeria? |
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Written by Mike Blyth
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Thursday, 08 February 2007 |
 Outbreaks of avian influenza were reported around Nigeria in 2006 though there were no human cases. As of early February 2007, there has been one human case reported from Lagos, a woman who died from the illness. See the avian influenza information page on the Evangel Hospital website, with brief explanations, recommendations and links to international health sources of information such as WHO and CDC. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 08 February 2007 )
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