Thursday, September 11, 2008

flaviviridae flavivirus


Well I just had my Yellow Fever shot.

It's less than two weeks until my visit to sub-Saharan Africa.

"Current estimates indicate 200,000 yellow fever cases with 30,000 deaths each year, and almost all in sub-Saharan Africa where over 460 million people in 33 countries are at risk of infection."

Last time I needed the vaccine was 10 years ago for my trip to Peru. It lasts 10 years! I don't remember any reaction to it.

This time, however, I woke two days later at 4am with all the symptoms of the flu - aching muscles, headache, blocked sinus etc. It wasn't until I spoke with Neil (who also had the vaccine and is coming with me) who had the same symptoms, that I realised it was a reaction to the 'live' vaccine.

There are quite a few other recommended vaccinations (Tetanus, Rabies, Cholera, Typhoid yada yada yada) but apart from anti-malarials (bad enough) I'm not having a bar of them.

What's a little Ebola gonna hurt?

No comments: