Clothing and mosquito bite prevention advice please. Pursuit, West Africa , November '23

[lovetocruisedublin]

We have cruised before but not on Azamara. We have just booked this cruise. Africa newbie.

I'm looking for advice on mosquito bite protection as I get bad reaction to bites (when I'm in Spain).

Also best clothing for excursions. 

 

[lisiamc]

57 minutes ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

We have cruised before but not on Azamara. We have just booked this cruise. Africa newbie.

I'm looking for advice on mosquito bite protection as I get bad reaction to bites (when I'm in Spain).

Also best clothing for excursions. 

 

We did this cruise in March from the opposite direction, and had a great time. We didn’t get any bites, but we did use repellent in some places.
 

You might consult your GP about anti-malarials too. We had some, and did take them, but stopped when we were a few days out of the malaria areas with no bites.

 

You may also need a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate to go ashore in some countries. If you’ve ever had that jab, it’s good for life. 

Edited June 9, 2023 by lisiamc

[crzrr]

We have not done any of the African cruises but have been to Africa.  As mentioned above, the yellow fever vaccination is worthwhile.  Also, an antimalarial such as Malarone can be prescribed.  Neither my husband or myself can tolerate Malarone (we've tried) so we get a prescription for doxycycline, which can also be used.  We only take if there are mosquitos present.  However, going in November you will probably find that it is still the dry season in many places and less of a chance of there being mosquitos.

For clothing, I can highly recommend ExOfficio.  They have good quality clothing labeled "bugs away".  

[lovetocruisedublin]

Thank you both so very much. I will enquire about the vaccines. I'm going on the site now to look for clothes. Have you any particular excursions you recommend? 

[Dr H]

You definitely need to consult CDC or a travel clinic regarding immunizations! As far as disease goes, you are probably safe on the ship, not on the land, and Africa is one hell hole of a continent when it comes to things that can kill you. And yes, I am a physician, Internal Medicine. First mosquitoes - deet repellent, and lots of it. Avoid perfumes. Malaria requirements change with geography, so speak to the experts (personally, I have a mental block when it comes to malaria, there are about 5 different flavors, a few of which will kill you.) You will need Yellow Fever immunization, it's a very easy shot, and remains effective for a good 10 years. Carry your documentation with you, you can be asked for any of it.  I highly recommend Hepatitis A if you haven't been immunized, that is the food borne one. Hepatitis B is blood and sexually transmitted. There is a combined vaccine now, two shots, 1 month apart. GET IT! Tetanus-diptheria-Pertussis. The routine tetanus shot is good for 10 years, get the booster if it has been 5 years of more, and definitely if you have never had the adult Pertussis/Whooping Cough. I'm sure there are several more that I've forgotten. You absolutely must keep in mind that Africa is NOT North America. Politics aside, medical care there, perish the thought you should need it is very substandard, except in isolated placed. There is good care available in South Africa, probably in Kenya, but after that, stabilize me and med evac me to either Europe (Germany/Switzerland) or the US. Have a wonderful trip, but very seriously, that is not a safe place to travel to as a tourist.

[Leo_On_Geo]

I did this trip in March, Including 10 days in South Africa before. You can buy the special clothing, or you can just use permethrin spray, bought on Amazon, to give your clothes insect repellency.

[beatnix]

I will follow this. We are also booked on this cruise in November. 

[Disneylandfan]

Just a heads up for one more thing. We traveled to western South Africa in 2019 and both of us got African tick bite fever. Curable, but not fun! 

[Mackdogmolly]

4 hours ago, Dr H said:

Have a wonderful trip, but very seriously, that is not a safe place to travel to as a tourist.

Well, you’ve put ME right off any Africa itineraries!!

[Dr H]

Honestly, I'm sorry if I've ruined it for a lot of you, but plain and simple, it not a safe place to get sick! (Oh, I'm glad my Internal Medicine Boards aren't due for a while, because I've never heard of African Tick Bite Fever! Makes it a prime question to ask!).

[Host Jazzbeau]

After all the people who want to 'play doctor' on Cruise Critic, your clear explanation of African vaccine issues was a breath of fresh air.  [Which, by the way, we are finally able to inhale again in NY today...]

[norn iron]

10 hours ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

We have cruised before but not on Azamara. We have just booked this cruise. Africa newbie.

I'm looking for advice on mosquito bite protection as I get bad reaction to bites (when I'm in Spain).

Also best clothing for excursions. 

 

LovetocruiseDublin (I even added a capital D !!) I'm only up the road from ye, so hopefully this works.

 

For the past 20 years or more, we have cruised around the world, especially into areas of high mosquito risk and have never once been bitten by one of the pesky buggers.

 

The best example is, were once in the Costa Rica rainforest and every other person on our coach was bitten to pieces, yet we walked out unscathed. Fifteen minutes back on the bus and we were being 

hounded for a share of our Neem oil.

 

Easily bought from health food shops, Asian Supermarkets or on Amazon. It is very concentrated, so I thin it down by two-thirds with sunflower and coconut oil, plus it's as cheap as chips.

It is oily, so use it sparingly, but it definitely works.

 

The benchmark is, the Neem tree is the only tree a plague of locusts won't go near. 

 

[lovetocruisedublin]

Norn iron... delighted with your note. Thank you.😊 I'd say you have some stories to tell!! I'll take you up on your tip. Off to the shop tomorrow. 

Do you get to Dublin at all? 

[alfredo1]

Hi,

In terms of clothing some manufacturers do mosquito/insect proof clothing. Used for trekking in Peru and survived, and some more fashional items are available.

Not allowed to name manufacturer but if you google nosilife that  should take you to them.

Hope this helps.

[Host Jazzbeau]

46 minutes ago, alfredo1 said:

Not allowed to name manufacturer

Why not?  Are they a travel agent?

[norn iron]

8 hours ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

Norn iron... delighted with your note. Thank you.😊 I'd say you have some stories to tell!! I'll take you up on your tip. Off to the shop tomorrow. 

Do you get to Dublin at all? 

I was Dublin last Monday, Clifden three weeks ago, and Tullow five weeks ago. 

[lisiamc]

7 hours ago, alfredo1 said:

Hi,

In terms of clothing some manufacturers do mosquito/insect proof clothing. Used for trekking in Peru and survived, and some more fashional items are available.

Not allowed to name manufacturer but if you google nosilife that  should take you to them.

Hope this helps.

We just took regular clothing; lightweight trousers, and at least one shirt with long sleeves, and used repellent. We were not plagued with mosquitoes, in fact, I don’t think I saw any at all. We just wanted to take sensible precautions to avoid malaria. Unless you were also going to other places on other travel, I don’t think specialist anti-mosquito clothing would be a worthwhile investment

[lovetocruisedublin]

17 hours ago, Leo_On_Geo said:

I did this trip in March, Including 10 days in South Africa before. You can buy the special clothing, or you can just use permethrin spray, bought on Amazon, to give your clothes insect repellency.

Thank you Leo. 

What were the sea day like? Calm or rough? 

[lovetocruisedublin]

39 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

We just took regular clothing; lightweight trousers, and at least one shirt with long sleeves, and used repellent. We were not plagued with mosquitoes, in fact, I don’t think I saw any at all. We just wanted to take sensible precautions to avoid malaria. Unless you were also going to other places on other travel, I don’t think specialist anti-mosquito clothing would be a worthwhile investment

Thank you for your reply. The clothing is very expensive for a one time trip. We are going on a one day safari in Cape Town so this would be the time we expect to have a problem. 

[lisiamc]

17 minutes ago, lovetocruisedublin said:

Thank you for your reply. The clothing is very expensive for a one time trip. We are going on a one day safari in Cape Town so this would be the time we expect to have a problem. 

The travel advice columns just recommend using repellents, and that certainly worked fine for us. In your shoes, I’d only buy the clothes if you like them. 

[lovetocruisedublin]

1 hour ago, norn iron said:

I was Dublin last Monday, Clifden three weeks ago, and Tullow five weeks ago. 

We were in Belfast 2 weeks ago! En route to Glasgow. My daughter was being presented with her OBE!!

I would love to meet up on your next visit south. phillangley@gmail.com

[lovetocruisedublin]

4 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

The travel advice columns just recommend using repellents, and that certainly worked fine for us. In your shoes, I’d only buy the clothes if you like them. 

 

16 hours ago, Disneylandfan said:

Just a heads up for one more thing. We traveled to western South Africa in 2019 and both of us got African tick bite fever. Curable, but not fun! 

That sounds bad. I'm a dog groomer and hate tick on them. I'll look it up and try to be prepared. 

[terry&mike]

We have done several safaris in the past, and have traveled to several African nations. We will be returning to Africa in late February where we will go Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, and then on safari across Kenya and Tanzania. We find that being covered is the key in keeping biting, stinging, rash-causing items at bay. This would look like long pants, long sleeve shirt, neck gator, hat (or thin shirt with built in hoodie). If you'll be doing some walking/trekking, wear higher socks that you can tuck your pants in to (keeps ants and other biting insects from coming up your pant leg), and comfortable hiking boots or shoes with traction. For jungle type areas, a cheap pair of gardening gloves goes a long way to protect your hands. 

We also use Picaridin Insect Repellent (we use the lotion one, made by Sawyer, can be purchased at outdoor suppliers or other places). 

[lovetocruisedublin]

22 hours ago, Dr H said:

You definitely need to consult CDC or a travel clinic regarding immunizations! As far as disease goes, you are probably safe on the ship, not on the land, and Africa is one hell hole of a continent when it comes to things that can kill you. And yes, I am a physician, Internal Medicine. First mosquitoes - deet repellent, and lots of it. Avoid perfumes. Malaria requirements change with geography, so speak to the experts (personally, I have a mental block when it comes to malaria, there are about 5 different flavors, a few of which will kill you.) You will need Yellow Fever immunization, it's a very easy shot, and remains effective for a good 10 years. Carry your documentation with you, you can be asked for any of it.  I highly recommend Hepatitis A if you haven't been immunized, that is the food borne one. Hepatitis B is blood and sexually transmitted. There is a combined vaccine now, two shots, 1 month apart. GET IT! Tetanus-diptheria-Pertussis. The routine tetanus shot is good for 10 years, get the booster if it has been 5 years of more, and definitely if you have never had the adult Pertussis/Whooping Cough. I'm sure there are several more that I've forgotten. You absolutely must keep in mind that Africa is NOT North America. Politics aside, medical care there, perish the thought you should need it is very substandard, except in isolated placed. There is good care available in South Africa, probably in Kenya, but after that, stabilize me and med evac me to either Europe (Germany/Switzerland) or the US. Have a wonderful trip, but very seriously, that is not a safe place to travel to as a tourist.

Oh my gosh, that sounds really dangerous. We won't be anywhere remote or for more than a couple of hours off the boat. Thank you very much for your information. I certainly will take it all into account. 

[lovetocruisedublin]

1 hour ago, terry&mike said:

We have done several safaris in the past, and have traveled to several African nations. We will be returning to Africa in late February where we will go Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, and then on safari across Kenya and Tanzania. We find that being covered is the key in keeping biting, stinging, rash-causing items at bay. This would look like long pants, long sleeve shirt, neck gator, hat (or thin shirt with built in hoodie). If you'll be doing some walking/trekking, wear higher socks that you can tuck your pants in to (keeps ants and other biting insects from coming up your pant leg), and comfortable hiking boots or shoes with traction. For jungle type areas, a cheap pair of gardening gloves goes a long way to protect your hands. 

We also use Picaridin Insect Repellent (we use the lotion one, made by Sawyer, can be purchased at outdoor suppliers or other places). 

Wow you are very adventurous. It sounds wonderful!!

We definitely won't be trekking through the undergrowth,  at best we are going on a jeep safari for 1 day in Cape Town.

Your advice is welcome and I'll use your tips religiously. 

Thank you for taking the time to answer😊