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WHO plague alert for South Africa - should I still go?


mek
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I leaving a week from Monday to go to Africa for 2 weeks. I will be in transit through Johannesburg at 4 different times - once connecting to Cape Town, then back again to go on to Kruger, then back to connect to Victoria Falls and then once more home, We have a lot of flights on this itinerary.

 

Can someone in the area tell me exactly what you are hearing about the plague alert? My information says SA is on high alert and I am somewhat concerned because of all of the flights we will be on.

 

Right now I'm on a wait and see what my doctor advises after I talk to him on Monday, but this is unsettling. It is a very expensive trip, but I do have insurance.

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You may have insurance but unless it has a cancel for any reason clause, you may not be covered. Unless there is a specific advisory out because of this, you would not be covered

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You may have insurance but unless it has a cancel for any reason clause, you may not be covered. Unless there is a specific advisory out because of this, you would not be covered

 

I have cancel for any reason.

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Thank you for posting this. We leave for our four week road trip in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho on Thursday. I was aware of an outbreak of plague in Madagascar but even though neighbouring countries are on high alert, I cannot find any reference to an outbreak in South Africa.

I am more concerned about the recent increase in malaria cases in the Kruger, particularly in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. We have our antimalarials and bug spray packed!

I rate the NHS fitfortravel website for up to date practical information.

Personally, based on current information, I wouldn't cancel - hope you have a wonderful trip.

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Thank you for posting this. We leave for our four week road trip in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho on Thursday. I was aware of an outbreak of plague in Madagascar but even though neighbouring countries are on high alert, I cannot find any reference to an outbreak in South Africa.

I am more concerned about the recent increase in malaria cases in the Kruger, particularly in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. We have our antimalarials and bug spray packed!

I rate the NHS fitfortravel website for up to date practical information.

Personally, based on current information, I wouldn't cancel - hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

I know, I can't find anything on outbreaks in SA either, but the WHO alert gave me a jolt! I'm sure we will go unless my doctor would tell me not to. He does a lot of work in 3rd world countries so he should be on top of this. I wasn't aware of the increases in malaria in Kruger, but I also have the meds, so not concerned about that. We are staying in the Thorneybush Reserve.

 

I hope you have a wonderful trip also.

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We leave for our four week road trip in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho on Thursday.

.

 

Hi,

 

Nothing to do with the OP's topic, but last year we drove a road-trip through Kruger, Swaziland & Lesotho - this report might have a useful tid-bit or two

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i12567-k10226518-South_Africa_road_trip_report_Kruger_to_Cape_Town-Road_Trips.html

 

Have a great trip - we did :)

 

JB :)

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Hi,

 

Nothing to do with the OP's topic, but last year we drove a road-trip through Kruger, Swaziland & Lesotho - this report might have a useful tid-bit or two

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i12567-k10226518-South_Africa_road_trip_report_Kruger_to_Cape_Town-Road_Trips.html

 

Have a great trip - we did :)

 

JB :)

 

Thank you for the link to your excellent review. This will be our fourth visit to SA, staying in our favourite haunts of Hout Bay and Franschhoek before heading north to the Drakensburg and Dundee to explore the Anglo-Boer and Anglo-Zulu war battlefields. We have arranged a trip into Lesotho via the Sani Pass - not in our hire car I hasten to add!

We have a very brief visit to the southern Kruger before on to Johannesburg to catch up with relatives before flying home. Thanks again.

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I know, I can't find anything on outbreaks in SA either, but the WHO alert gave me a jolt! I'm sure we will go unless my doctor would tell me not to. He does a lot of work in 3rd world countries so he should be on top of this. I wasn't aware of the increases in malaria in Kruger, but I also have the meds, so not concerned about that. We are staying in the Thorneybush Reserve.

 

I hope you have a wonderful trip also.

no Bubonic plague in South Africa - its in MADASGASCAR - WHO likes to scare people - i am an old retired nurse from S AFRICA - more likely to get some flesh eating disease in the US hospitals - KRUGER park has had a lot of rain and advises Malaria nedication.

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Update - I talked with my doctor and he told me to go but gave me an antibiotic to take along just in case. I know the difference between bubonic and the pneumonia version, which the one that is in question and I always take travel advisories seriously and do my homework before making any decisions.

 

Leaving on Monday and expect to have a great time.

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Update - I talked with my doctor and he told me to go but gave me an antibiotic to take along just in case. I know the difference between bubonic and the pneumonia version, which the one that is in question and I always take travel advisories seriously and do my homework before making any decisions.

 

Leaving on Monday and expect to have a great time.

yes - take Cipro where eve i cruise especially in India as we like to eat street food

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I live in Johannesburg and this is the first time I have even heard of this!

Plague has occurred in Madagascar not South Africa. Reading the alert from the WHO, they are warning South Africans to be aware of the outbreak in Madagascar. It is not an alert for an outbreak in South Africa.

 

"From 23 August to 30 September 2017, a total of 73 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of pneumonic plague, including 17 deaths have been reported in Madagascar. ... In addition to the 73 cases of pneumonic plague, from 1 August to 30 September, 58 cases of bubonic plague including seven deaths have been reported."

 

Could an administrator please remove this thread as it is misleading?

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I live in Johannesburg and this is the first time I have even heard of this!

Plague has occurred in Madagascar not South Africa. Reading the alert from the WHO, they are warning South Africans to be aware of the outbreak in Madagascar. It is not an alert for an outbreak in South Africa.

 

"From 23 August to 30 September 2017, a total of 73 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of pneumonic plague, including 17 deaths have been reported in Madagascar. ... In addition to the 73 cases of pneumonic plague, from 1 August to 30 September, 58 cases of bubonic plague including seven deaths have been reported."

 

Could an administrator please remove this thread as it is misleading?

Yep, need to read the whole article not just the lead sentence.

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Thanks Gwendy.

It is unfair for such a thread to remain as it makes readers who do not go into the body of it think that we have an outbreak of plague here in South Africa which is completely untrue.

 

If you click on the blue triangle with the exclamation point inside (at the top right corner of the post you want removed) you can report it to the moderator and give the reason it should be removed. This will alert them to review it and take action if warranted.

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I do not believe the thread title, nor the OP are misleading. Nowhere does the post say that there has been an outbreak of plague in SA only that the WHO says SA (and neighbouring countries) should be on high alert.

Many SA media outlets have used the same terminology eg https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1705478/south-africa-on-high-alert-for-plague/

Fellow travellers should be aware that there is plague in the region and be aware of the symptoms so that prompt action could be taken should the worst happen. JMHO.

Edited by Omega1
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  • 2 weeks later...

I returned from my trip yesterday and there are alerts at the airport in Johannesburg. At the time of my departure, WHO did have South Africa as one of the countries listed on high alert, so I don't believe my post or title was misleading in any way. All I was asking for was information from people in the area for an update on what they were being told - I was most definitely not being an alarmist. I seriously doubt if my post prevented anyone from traveling to South Africa.

 

BTW, I had a fantastic trip and everyone we met was friendly. Cape Town and the surrounding areas are spectacular and I will encourage people to visit South Africa.

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And we will be there in January-February 2019.

 

We took our "once in a lifetime" trip to South Africa in 2016 and knew by the time we got home that we had to go back.

 

I feel the same way - I would like to go back in 2019 and see the great migration and do more of a mobile camp experience rather than the safari lodges, which I loved, but it would be nice to experience something a little different.

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