Safety Tips in Angola

Yellow fever is a tropical disease that is spread to humans by infected mosquitoes.
It's a disease found only in Africa and South America and it is preventable by immunization.

Travelers to Angola need to get the Yellow Fever vaccine.

If visitors are not vaccinated (or fail to make proof they were vaccinated beforehand), Angolan authorities will require visitors to take a vaccine right there. This control is done at the airport even before visitors reached the passport check desk.

Therefore, travelers better get the Yellow Fever vaccine beforehand in their own country.

Note-1: Once vaccinated to the Yellow Fever, one will be immunized for 10 years.
Note-2: Do not forget to bring your International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever with you. In order to be allowed into the country, visitors are required to show this document at the airport to make proof they are immunized.

Would you need to bring a whole Pharmacy with you ??

In my case, before flying to Angola I went to a Medical Consult to get some advisement against Tropical Diseases & such.

In Portugal the name for this appointment is "Consulta do Viajante" (Traveler Consult) and besides a couple other places, it can be provided at the "Instituto da Higiene e Medicina Tropical" (in english: Tropical Medicine Institute) in Lisbon, Portugal.

Click here for Info on this Institute's Traveler Consult.

In my case, instead of going to Tropical Medicine Institute in Lisbon, I went to Leiria, which is a closer than Lisbon to my hometown, for my "Consulta do Viajante" and come out with a prescription to buy a whole bunch of medicines (pictured on this Tip).

This was my Medicines List:
» UL-250 - 20 capsules: antidiarrheal. (Price € 8.47).
» Imodium - 20 capsules: diarrheal. (€ 4.41)
» Nivoflox 500 (ciprofloxacina) - 16 capsules: Infections antibiotic. (€ 36.09).
» Cinet (domperidona) - 60 pills: Stomach / Vomits. (€ 11.21).
» ben-u-ron (paracetamol) - 20 pills: Pain / Fever. (€ 1.42).
» Kestine - 20 pills: Allergies / Flu / Running nose. (€ 7.87).
» Mephaquin - 8 pills. Paludism / Malaria. (€ 23,38)
» Mosquito repellent - one stick. (€ 5.95)

Total cost: € 98.8
Since some of those medicines are partially supported by the Portuguese Health System, I ended up paying about € 50 (fifty euros) only.

Thanks God that except for Mephaquin, the malaria preventer, I haven't got the need to take any of those aforementioned medicines !!

While on the plain on the way back to Portugal, the flight attendants handed-out each passenger a flyer on the Cholera epidemy that has been hitting Angola.

The flyer is written in 3 languages (Portuguese, French, and English) - please check attached picture. It provides a Portuguese Toll Free number to call in case of any symptoms within the next few days after arrival.

According to today's World Health Organization news (May 27, 2006) the outbreak of this epidemic, which is linked to poor water supplies and inadequate sanitation, has already reached 13 of the 18 Angolan provincies and has killed 1,451 people.

Do not ride in a taxi...they are communal and most are illegal. We were advised by local businessmen to avoid all commercial travel and not to rent a car. It is very difficult to navigate anyhow, the potholes in the streets are like mini canyons, and police spot rental cars and find any excuse to stop them to extract a bribe. The taxis may unload many passengers then drive down a quiet street to see what you may have that they may want.....We were fortunate to have a contact that met us at the airport, and drove us everywhere we wanted to go. He insisted it is the only safe way to visit.

ENGLISH - Sorry, of course tips are the same for a lot of countries:*********Don't drink water unless it comes from a closed bottle of mineral water. Avoid fresh vegetables.*********You don't know how ice was produced. Are you used to drinking whisky 'on the rocks'? Forget it: ask for gin tonic, for instance, as tonic water comes in a closed bottle from the refrigerator and so you don't need ice in your glass.
Or do like local people: beer, nothing else.
*******
Do you know that mosquitos are not fond of your skin, since you take vitamin 'B'? Take one tablet each afternoon, so you avoid mosquitos at the sunset, when they are more aggressive.
PORTUGUÊS - Claro que os truques são os mesmos para muitos países: ********* Não bebam água que não venha de uma garrafa fechada. Evitem os vegetais não cozidos ********* Não se sabe de onde vem o gelo. Costuma beber whisky com gelo? Esqueça-o: peça por exemplo gin tónico. A água tónica vem gelada do frigorífico, e assim evita a necessidade de gelo. Ou então faça como os locais: beba cerveja. ********* Sabe que os mosquitos não gostam da nossa pele se tivermos tomado vitamina 'B'? Tome um comprimido todas as tardes, para afugentar os mosquitos ao anoitecer, altura em que são mais agressivos.
FRANÇAIS - Evidemment, les trucs sont plus ou moins les mêmes pour plusieurs pays comme celui-ci.******** Ne buvez pas d'eau qui ne vienne d'une bouteille qui était fermée. Évitez les légumes crus ******** On ne sait jamais d'où viennent les glaçons. Avez-vous l'habitude du whisky avec de la glace? Oubliez-le: demandez par exemple un gin tonic. L'eau tonique vient déjà froide du frigo, ainsi vous evitez les glaçons. Ou bien, faites comme les gens du pays: buvez de la bière ******* Savez-vous que les moustiques n'aiment pas votre peau, si vous prenez de la vitamine 'B'? Prenez un tablette chaque début d'aprÈs-midi, ainsi vous évitez les moustiques au soleil couchant, quand ils sonl le plus agressifs.