Travel

Vaccine information  

All travellers should be up to date with routine vaccination courses and boosters as recommended in the UK. These vaccinations include for example measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and diphtheria-tetanus-polio vaccine. 

Please contact your GP or pharmacist to check if your vaccinations are up to date and arrange the recommended vaccines for visiting the area. Advise them that you will be flying to Zimbabwe but staying in Zambia and travelling between the two countries in the Victora Falls area during your stay. 
 

Certificate requirements 

• There is no risk of yellow fever in these countries, however, there is a certificate requirement if travellers are arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission and for travellers having transited for more than 12 hours through the airport of a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. 

• View the WHO list of countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. 

 

Malaria 

Malaria is a serious illness caused by infection of red blood cells with a parasite called Plasmodium. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes which predominantly feed between dusk and dawn. 
 

Symptoms usually begin with a fever (high temperature) of 38°C (100°F) or more. Other symptoms may include feeling cold and shivery, headache, nausea, vomiting and aching muscles. Symptoms may appear between eight days and one year after the infected mosquito bite. 
 

Prompt diagnosis and treatment is required as people with malaria can deteriorate quickly. Those at higher risk of malaria, or of severe complications from malaria, include pregnant women, infants and young children, the elderly, travellers who do not have a functioning spleen and those visiting friends and relatives. 

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Risk area  

There is a high risk of malaria in Zambia and the Zambezi Valley (where the Trade Elite programme will take place). Recommended malaria prevention tablets are; atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline or mefloquine. 

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It's crucial to consult with a healthcare professional or pharmacist to determine the most appropriate medication and dosage for your specific travel plans and health status. 

 

Special risk groups 

In low-risk areas, antimalarials may be considered in exceptional circumstances for travellers who are at higher risk of malaria (such as long-term travellers visiting friends and relatives), or of severe complications from malaria (such as the elderly [over 70 years], the immunosuppressed, those with complex co-morbidities, pregnant women, infants and young children). The final decision whether or not to advise antimalarials rests with the travel health advisor and the traveller after individual risk assessment.

 

Travellers with an absent or poorly functioning spleen should be dissuaded from travel to any area with risk of malaria. Where travel is essential, awareness, rigorous bite avoidance and antimalarials should be advised even for the low-risk areas. For the areas regarded as ‘very low’ malaria risk, antimalarials would not be advised, but bite avoidance and awareness of risk would still apply. 

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For special risk groups, you may wish to seek specialist advice. 

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Prevention 

Travellers should follow an ABCD guide to preventing malaria:
 

Awareness of the risk – Risk depends on the specific location, season of travel, length of stay, activities and type of accommodation. 

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Bite prevention – Travellers should take mosquito bite avoidance measures.

 

Chemoprophylaxis – Travellers should take antimalarials (malaria prevention tablets) if appropriate for the area (see below). No antimalarials are 100% effective but taking them in combination with mosquito bite avoidance measures will give substantial protection against malaria. 
 

Diagnosis – Travellers who develop a fever of 38°C [100°F] or higher more than one week after being in a malaria risk area, or who develop any symptoms suggestive of malaria within a year of return should seek immediate medical care. Emergency standby treatment may be considered for those going to remote areas with limited access to medical attention.