Vaccinations...All 7 of them!
Yes, if you go to your local NHS doctor they
solemnly look up the Plymouth-Dakar route in their computers. Questions are
asked - Are you staying in hotels, going on safari, or back-packing? Hmmm, yes,
well....Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia. The printer spits out a
Disease
Profile and associated
Risk
Level. Well, that'll be 7 vaccinations,
plus
anti-Malarial medication. We needed to have Yellow fever, Miningitis A & C,
Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis A, and Diptheria. That costs about £50,
and then they tell you that the anti-Malarial will cost £53. That's taking
them for 8 weeks, including the 4 after the Rally. Apparently that's the danger
period.....you get bitten by a mosquito and then return home and the bugs
multiply and you get the nasty disease....so, you have to take the pills for 4
weeks after getting home.
The good news
is... at least according to the NHS Disease Profile.... that while "Food",
"Insects", and "People" are considered to be
Potential
Risk, the Environment is tagged as
Low
Risk.
Haven't they heard of snakes and
scorpions and things, the minefield we're going to drive through on the
Mauritanian border, African customs officers, or French-speaking drivers
?!?!?!
Posted: Wed - November 19, 2003 at 11:57 AM