AUSTRALIA - MELANESIA - MICRONESIA - NEW-ZEALAND - POLYNESIA

  MALARIA PREVENTION  |   DIARRHOEA  |   VACCINATIONS
    
       
  There is no malaria risk in:

Australia
Melanesia: Fiji Islands, New-Caledonia, Tuvalu
Micronesia: Guam, Kiribati, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Pacific Islands, Palau, Wake Island
New-Zealand
Polynesia: Christmas Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue, Pitcairn, Samoa, Tonga

There is an important malaria risk in:

Solomon Islands: There is an important malaria risk on most of the islands (with the exception of a few islands in the east and south).
Vanuatu: There is an important malaria risk (except on Futuna Island).

For protective measures: see NOTE 1.

 

   

    
  MALARIA PREVENTION

Measures to protect oneself against mosquito bites in the evening and at night are always essential for protection against possible malaria. Persons visiting a malaria region during the day and spending the nights in good hotels run no risk, and do not need to take any antimalaria tablets, although they should always have a mosquito repellent product with them for application to the skin, in case they cannot get back to the hotel in time in the evening, for example because of problems such as illness, car breakdown, etc. The mosquito repellent should also be generously applied to the skin when on a trip or a safari in the early morning, in the evening or at night. When on adventure type trips with overnight stays in primitive conditions out in the countryside, it is also advisable to impregnate the mosquito net with permethrine or deltamethrine, a chemical substance which produces an extra mosquito-repellent and mosquitocidal effect. Taking antimalaria tablets is also necessary.

NOTE 1

MALARONE® (1 tablet daily from 1 day before departure until 7 days after returning home) OR DOXYCYCLINE (1 tablet daily from 1 day before departure until 4 weeks after returning home; in some cases a tolerance test during a few days is necessary) OR LARIAM® (1 tablet once a week, starting 2-3 weeks before departure until 4 weeks after returning home) are the first-choice antimalaria drugs.
In order to have an effective dose of LARIAM® in the blood upon arrival in the malaria region, it is best to start taking the medication 2 to 3 weeks before departure. If you have never taken this medication before, it is certainly better to start 2 to 3 weeks beforehand in order to deal with possible side effects (e.g. dizziness, insomnia, nightmares, agitation, inexplicable anxiety, cardiac palpitations). Lariam will not be prescribed if the doctor thinks that there are contra indications (trying to become pregnant, epilepsy, depression, or cardiac rhythm disorders for which certain medications such as beta-blockers, calcium antagonists or digitalis are taken) or unless Lariam was not tolerated on an earlier occasion. The medication should be continued for 4 weeks after returning home. If Lariam® is well tolerated; it can if necessary be taken for many months and even years.
For short trips MALARONE is generally well tolerated and is an excellent choice. It can be taken for many months, but is in that case an expensive alternative.
DOXYCYCLINE (100 mg daily, starting the day before departure, and continuing until 4 weeks after returning home). Doxycycline must be taken sitting down with plenty of liquid or during a meal. Doxycycline can sometimes give rise to phototoxicity and fungal infections in the mouth or genitals. Doxycycline can be taken for several months.
All this should be discussed with your doctor or with the doctor at the travel advice centre.

 

   

    
  DIARRHOEA

DIARRHOEA is a frequent problem when travelling. Even when travelling in good conditions, it is not always possible to avoid it. Some advice and the correct medications from the travel pharmacy are very useful. Please consult the text on "traveller’s diarrhoea", where the measures for prevention and the correct treatment of diarrhoea are discussed.		  

   

DENGUE

In this part of the world (except in New-Zealand and most parts of Australia) dengue fever may occur. Prevention = apply protective measures against mosquito bites during the day. Consult the text on dengue - www.travelhealth.be & consult the world card on www.who.int/ith ® "disease distribution maps".

    
   

    
  VACCINATIONS
  • No vaccinations are required. YELLOW FEVER vaccination is not required if you are departing from Belgium. There is no yellow fever in Belgium. However, if you travel from another country where yellow fever can occur (Africa, South America, see http://www.who.int/ith/en/index.html - disease distribution maps), you should be vaccinated from the age of 1 year and upwards for Australia, Fiji Islands, New-Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Christmas Islands, French Polynesia, Niue, Pitcairn, Samoa, Tonga.
  • Going on a trip is also an ideal opportunity for bringing TETANUS, DIPHTHERIA, PERTUSSIS, MEASLES and POLIOMYELITIS VACCINATIONS up to date.
  • Anyone travelling to Oceania, regardless of the duration and the circumstances of the trip, should be vaccinated against HEPATITIS A. Vaccination against TYPHOID is recommended for people who are travelling in poor hygienic conditions, go abroad frequently or for long periods (e.g. for more than 2-3 weeks), even if in good hygienic conditions. In a lot of cases, vaccination against HEPATITIS B is recommended.
    For more details, please consult the text about "VACCINATIONS".
    All this should be individually discussed with your doctor or with the doctor at the travel advice centre.