Although disease is an ever-present threat to most Kenyans, health should not be a big issue for visitors. Malaria is endemic and HIV infection rates are high, but so long as you take sensible precautions-remember your malaria pills, clean any cuts or scrapes, and avoid food that has been left out after cooking- you should have no problems beyond the chance of minor tummy trouble.

One of the biggest hazards is the fierce UV radiation of the equatorial sun. Brightness rather than heat is the damaging element, so wear a hat and use high-factor sun block, especially in your first two weeks. If you’re going to be on the road for a long time, it may be worth considering taking some vitamin tablets with you, though they are no substitute for a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. If you’re going to Kenya for longer than a short holiday, get a thorough dental checkup before leaving home. A freshly cut “toothbrush twig” (msuake) is a useful supplement, and some varieties contain a plaque-destroying enzyme. You can buy them at markets.

Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, are rife in Kenya. Four out of Five deaths among 25- to 35 –year olds are AIDS-related .Using a condom will help to protect you from this and other STDs, including hepatitis B, which is quite widespread and can, lead to chronic liver disease.

Medical Resources

Your family doctor is your best first source of advice and probable supplier of jabs and prescriptions. Depending on your doctor and your health provider, you may get your requirements free of charge, or have to pay.

International and Emergency

IAMAT www.iamat.org . A free –membership non-profit organization, providing travel health info and lists of approved participating hospitals and clinics in Kenya.

International SOS assistance .Emergency evacuation and assistance to members.

MEDJET Assistance www.medjetassistance.com .Medical evacuation specialists.

United Kingdom

MASTA www.masta-travel-health.com. Clinic locations throughout the UK, but expensive.

NHS Scotland Fit for Travel, NHS Choices Travel Health, Nomad Pharmacy .Three locations in London, plus Bristol, Southampton and Manchester.

Ireland

Tropical Medical Bureau. More than a dozen clinics throughout Ireland.

USA & Canada

Centers for Disease Control and prevention .US government official site travel health.

Public Health Agency of Canada .Complete listing of all travel health clinics across Canada.

Travel Health Online .Well-updated, US, private-sector health and safety site with substantial Kenya information.

Australia, New Zealand & South Africa

The Travel Doctor TMVC .19 clinics in Australia, 7 in New Zealand and 1 in South Africa.

Inoculations

For arrivals by air from Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America, Kenya has no required inoculations. Entering overland, though ,you may well be required to show an International Vaccination Certificate for yellow fever, and it is just possible that you may be asked for a cholera certificate too ( vaccination centre’s will usually provide a “cholera vaccination not required” stamp in your certificate for just such an eventuality) . If you intend to enter Kenya by land or to break your journey to Kenya elsewhere in Africa, plan ahead and start organizing your jabs at least six weeks before departure . A yellow fever certificate only becomes valid ten days after you’ve had the jab, but is then valid for ten years.

You should ensure that you are up to date with your childhood tetanus and polio protection: boosters are necessary every ten years (your doctor will check your records) and it’s as well to check before traveling.

Although not necessary for an ordinary safari-and –beach holiday, if you’re going to be exposed to unhygienic conditions, doctors recommend jabs for typhoid, hepatitis A and hepatitis B (or a combined vaccination course) .Effective protection takes some time to develop after the vaccination, so if you’re going to be working locally or traveling extensively, talk to your doctor as far ahead as you can.

Malaria

Malaria is endemic in tropical Africa and has a variable incubation period of a few days to several weeks, meaning you can get it long after being bitten .Its caused by a parasite called plasmodium, carried in the saliva of the female Anopheles mosquito. Anopheles prefers to bite in the evening, and can be distinguished by the eager, head-down position as she settles to bite. Anopheles is rarely found above 1500m, which means Nairobi and much of central Kenya is naturally malaria-free, but mosquitoes can travel in luggage and public transport so you should assume the whole country is risky.

Though not infectious, the disease can be very dangerous and sometimes fatal if not treated quickly .The destruction of red blood cells by the plasmodium falciparum type of malaria parasite can lead to celebral malaria (blocking of the brain capillaries) and is the cause of nasty complication called black water fever in which the urine is stained by excreted blood cells.

Wherever you travel, mosquito bites are almost a certainty and protection against malaria is essential. The best and most obvious method is to reduce your risk of being bitten. Keep your arms, legs and feet covered as much as possible after dusk ( long, light-coloured sleeves and trousers are best), and cover exposed skin with a strong repellent. Deet-based repellants (“deet “is the insecticide diethyltoluamide) are best; citronella oil is considered much less effective, and has the disadvantage that elephants are attracted to the smell, and have been known to break into cars and tents to get at it. Sleep under a mosquito net (if you’re using your own, you might want to impregnate it will Deet) and burn mosquito coils, or mosquito-repellant tablets on a plug-in electric burner, both readily available in Kenya. Electronic buzzers have been shown not to work.

However, much you can avoid being bitten; most medical professionals consider it essential to take anti-malaria tablets. The commonly recommended preventatives are the weekly mefloquine (sold as Lariam), which has a poor record for side effects, the antibiotic doxycycline, taken daily, and atovaquone-with-proguanil taken daily ( sold as Malarone) ,which ,while expensive ,has few, if any ,side effects and can be started just two days before you leave. Your doctor may be able to advise further on which of these pills the best one for you is, and what the various side effects can be. It’s important to maintain a careful routine and cover period before and after your trip with doses.

If you do get a dose of malaria,youll soon know about it: the fever, shivering and headaches are something like severe flu and come in unpleasant waves, making you pour with sweat for half an hour and then shiver uncontrollably. If you suspect anything, go to a hospital or clinic immediately .You will be rapidly tested and sold the appropriate treatment .If you can’t get a doctor, seeing a pharmacist is a good plan B.

Note that if you’re visiting Kenya for an extended period, it makes sense to buy the bulk of your anti-malaria tablets in Kenya. You can buy all of them over the counter and they can be much cheaper than at home-a box of one hundred diocycycline for example costs only ksh 1000.

Waterborne Diseases

Serious stomach upsets don’t afflict a large proportion of travelers. That said, Kenya’s once fairly safe tap water is increasingly unfit to drink and the supply can be particularly suspect during periods of drought or heavy flooding. Where there is no mains supply, be very cautious of rain-or well-water .To purify water intended for drinking, use purifying tablets or, better, iodine (six drops per litre of water, then wait for half an hour) ,or boil it ( if at high altitude ,for thirty minutes).

If your stay in Kenya is short, you might as well stick to bottled water, which is widely available. For longer stays, think of re-educating your stomach: it’s virtually impossible to travel around the country without exposing yourself to strange bugs from time to time. Take it easy at first, don’t overdo the fruits (and wash it in clean water), don’t keep food too long, and be wary of salads. It is also a wise to eat food that is freshly cooked and piping hot.

Should you go down with diarrhea, it will probably sort itself out without treatment within 48 hours. In the meantime, and especially with children ,for whom it may be more serious ,its essential to replace the fluids and salts lost, so drink lots of water with oral rehydration salts ( if you cant get them from pharmacies, use half a teaspoon of salt and eight teaspoons of sugar in a litre of water). It’s a good idea to avoid greasy food, heavy spices, caffeine and most fruit and diary products. Plain rice or ugali with boiled vegetables is the best diet. Drugs like Lomotil and Imodium simply plug you up, undermining the body’s efforts to rid itself of infection, though they can be useful if you have to travel.

Avoid jumping for antibiotics at the first sign of trouble: they annihilate what’s nicely known as your “gut flora” and will not work on viruses’ .But if your diarrhea continues for more than five days, seek medical help. Be aware of the fact that diarrhea reduces the efficacy of malaria and contraceptive pills as they may pass straight through your system without being absorbed.

Bilharzia (medical name schistosomiasis) is a dangerous disease. It comes from tiny worm-like flukes, the schistosomes, that live in freshwater snails and which burrow into animal or human skin to multiply in the bloodstream. The snails only favour stagnant water and the chances of picking up bilharzias are small. The usual recommendation is never to swim in, wash with, or even touch, lake water that can’t be vouched for. The stagnant and weed-infested parts of Kenyan lakes and rivers often harbour bilharzias, but the danger of crocodile attack means you’re unlikely to want any close contact with inland waters. If you suffer serious fatigue and pass blood, which are the first symptoms of bilharzias, see a doctor: it’s curable.

Heat & Altitude

Its important not to underestimate the power of the equatorial sun: a hat and sunglasses are strongly recommended to protect you from the bright light. The sun can quickly burn, or even cause sunstroke,so a high-factor sunblock is vital on exposed skin,especially when you first arrive.Be aware that overheating can cause heatstroke ,which is potentially fatal. Signs are a very high body temperature, without a feeling of fever but accompanied by headaches and disorientation. Lowering the body temperature (by taking a tepid shower for example) and resting in a cool place, are the first steps in treatment.

The suns radiation is stronger as higher altitudes, but the biggest risk if you climb to over 2500m above sea level is altitude sickness which may affect climbers on Mount Kenya, and even walkers’ in the Cherengani Hills.

On the coast, many people get occasional heat rashes, especially at first. A warm shower to open the pores, and loose cotton clothes, should help, as can zinc oxide powder. Dehydration is another possible problem, so make sure you are drinking enough fluids (but not alcohol or caffeine), especially when you’re hot or tired. The main danger sign is irregular urination, and dark urine definitely means you’re not drinking enough water.

Cuts and Bites

Take more care than usual over minor cuts and scrapes. In the tropics, the most trivial scratch can quickly become a throbbing infection if you ignore it. Take a small tube of antiseptic with you, or apply alcohol or iodine.

As for animal bites, dogs are usually sad and skulking, and pose little threat, but rabies does exist in Kenya, and can be transmitted by a bite or even a lick, so its best to avoid playing with pets unless you know the owner and are sure they are safe. On the smaller scale, scorpions and spiders abound, but are hardly ever seen unless you deliberately turn over rocks or logs. Scorpion stings are painful but rarely dangerous, while spiders are mostly quite harmless, even the really big ones. Snakes are common but, again, the vast majority are harmless .To see one at all, you need to search stealthily .If you walk heavily they obligingly disappear.

Medical Treatment

For serious treatment Kenya has too few well-equipped hospitals, and in most you're expected to pay for all treatment and drugs. The Consolata Sisters Nazareth Hospital on Riara Ridge, northwest of Nairobi and IN Nyeri ,are well run and modestly priced ,as is Kijabe Hospital on the east side of the Rift Valley near Naivasha.We have specialized hospitals based on international standards likes of Nairobi Hospital,Mater Hospital,Aga Khan hospital, Avenue Hospital,MP shah which are very expensive among others country wide.

Kenya’s flying doctors air ambulance and intensive care ambulance both based at Wilson airport provide emergency medical evacuation flights and in-flights medical ambulance for patients in critical conditions. There is tourists membership fees based on two weeks ,two month for cover up to a radius of 500km from Nairobi and upto 1000km.So tourists are advised to take these membership while on safari in Kenya incase of an accident or incident then you can be airlifted to the nearest specialized hospital for treatment.

Travel tips are very essential for travelers be it tourists, business executives to equip them with what is required in their travel to other countries. Health tips will create awareness on what is expected and the remedies to be taken to avoid being a victim. You might have booked your ticket yes done all your accommodation arrangements paid for but a small issue like yellow fever certificate interrupts and makes you cancel your trip and loose out, so tourists ensure you have a check list or contact your travel or tour consultants for advice on travel requirements.

Anthony Mmeri is the Editor and Senior Aviation Director at Wings Over Africa Safaris Limited. <br><a href='http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com’> This is a Safari Holiday Maker & Travel Tips Consultancy Company that specializes on Travel Tips On Health| Booking Safaris| Culture & Etiquette| Crime & Safety | Travel Essentials For Holidays Safaris In Kenya . </a> The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/safaris-east-africa/kenya-tour-packages.html</a>