wrmoe@houxf.UUCP (W.MOE) (09/11/85)
I recently asked the net for help in getting shots & visas lined up
for an upcoming trip to Africa. I think the responses I got will be
valuable to anyone who is planning a trip outside the "normal"
destinations. Thanks to the people who responded. How do I
send postcards to a login?
-Warren Moe
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For information on vaccinations call the Newark Dispensary at the Newark
Airport (201) 961-2525. (I assume that you are from the NJ/NY area.)
They can give typhoid, cholera, polio, gamma globulin, etc. shots and
record your vaccinations on an International Certificate of Vaccination.
They do not hand out anything for malaria (chloroquine, Fansidar, etc.);
you will need to get that from your doctor. In particular, find if you
need a yellow fever vaccination.
For more information call The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta
(404) 329-3311 or IAMAT in Lewiston, NY (716) 754-4883.
- Kevin Q. Brown
I [...] was told to call the US Health Service at
Kennedy Airport for information on shots. The number is (718) 917-1685;
if you give them your itinerary (where you're going, when you're going, how
long you're staying), they will tell you what you *must* get and what you
*should* get. If you need yellow fever vaccinations, they must be
done at an authorized yellow fever vaccination center--Hurtado Health Center
at Rutgers in New Brunswick is one (phone number is 932-7403). Call ASAP,
since some of the vaccinations take a few weeks to take effect. You will
probably also be advised to get a tetanus booster (if you haven't had one
recently), typhoid fever vaccination, and anti-malarial medication. Any
doctor can do the tetanus booster and the prescriptions.
As far as visas, I would advise calling the various embassies in NYC if you
can't get any help from your travel agent. Alternately, the Health Service
might be able to give you another number at JFK to call for that info.
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!ecl
The Center for Disease Control publishes a Health Guide for
International Travelers. I assume you can look up the gummint pages in
your phone book and order one from the US Public Health Service. You
can of course phone them and ask someone to read you the relevant
sections on the countries you wish to visit, including vaccination
requirements (and recencies...)
The diseases to worry about are yellow fever, cholera, malaria, and
possibly typoid fever or typhus. Yellow fever: The airport health
department can give you a shot the day of departure. You have to make
an appointment (the stuff lasts only a short time after unfreezing) and
cough up $15 or so. This is like a flu shot (albumin) so if you have
reactions to those you may want to take it a week or so ahead of time.
Cholera - your doctor or hospital can give you one for a couple of bucks
anytime. Malaria: Depending whether the falciparum protozoa in the
regions you expect to visit is quinine-resistant, you'll want to enter a
course of choroquine or bactrim two weeks before departure. Your doctor
can give you a prescription for that. It's cheep. [NOTE: If you're
allergic to sulfa drugs, and you're going to a quinine-resistant
malarial area, you have a problem. ] Typhus and typhoid fever
vaccinations are available at any reasonably-sized hospital.
For hepatitis resistance, you may want to take a gamma globulin shot
before you leave. Your doctor or hospital can provide that.
Oded Feingold MIT AI Lab. 545 Tech Square Cambridge, Mass. 02139
I would suggest you call your local public library reference desk and ask
them for the address of the counsulate (in the US) for each country you
want to visit, and call/write each of them. Be warned that getting visas
into some of these places can be a slow process that includes SENDING THEM
YOUR PASSPORT! (gack)
Topher Eliot Cyb Systems, Austin, TX (512) 458-3224
{gatech,ihnp4,nbires,seismo,ucb-vax}!ut-sally!cyb-eng!topher