can my daughter have a malaria jab free on the nhs?

Question

she's going to ghana in june to do charity work and the dr. wants to charge her 100 quid

Answer 1

Anti-malarials come in tablet form as opposed to injection. There are different drugs to treat the different strains of malaria. The most suitable for travel to Ghana is Melfloquine which is sold under the brand name Lariam and manufactured by Roche. It is taken in tablet form once a week with the prescription commencing 2 weeks prior to travel and finishing four weeks after return. Hence, a six week trip would require 12 tablets (2 + 6 + 4).

The tablets are not available on the NHS and can only be prescribed by a doctor. The cost is about £4.00 per tablet (sorry, can't remember the exact price). Don't leave it until the last minute as some pharmacies don't stock Melfloquine and will need to order it for you - normally the same or following day.

Other possible drugs are Doxycycline and Malarone, both are tablets taken daily. Your health advisor will prescribe the most suitable drug for your daughters circumstances.

Anti-malarial tablets such as Daraprim are readily available in Ghana from pharmacies and no prescription is needed. Daraprim is manufactured in the UK by GlaxoSmithKline and costs a fraction of the price when bought in Ghana.

A yellow fever immunisation certificate is an entry requirement into Ghana and again, this is something you will need to pay for (about £50). This can be arranged through your doctor or through your local travel clinic (details below). The vaccination is given by injection and must be at least 10 days prior to arrival in Ghana.

There are several recommended immunisations which your health advisor can give you more details about. You may want to consider...

~ Polio* - virus usually transmitted via contaminated food and water
~ Hepatitis A - virus usually transmitted via contaminated food and water
~ Typhoid Fever - recommended if staying in rural locations or for prolonged stays
~ Diphtheria* - Usually transmitted via close contact with infected persons
~ Tetanus* - Bacterial disease usually resulting from infected wounds
~ Hepatitis B - sexually transmitted and through use of infected needles etc**
~ Tuberculosis - contracted through close contact with infected persons, your daughter probably had a TB jab as a child
~ Cholera - Mostly found in rural and slum areas, transmitted via infected food and water
~ Rabies - Vaccine recommended if staying in remote areas, doesn’t prevent rabies but 'buys time' prior to treatment
~ Meningococcal Meningitis - Prevalent in the north and south east of the country from October to May

* Polio, Diphtheria and Tetanus can be given as a combined injection.
** Travellers medical kits are available from outdoor shops and travel clinics and include sterile needles etc.

Diarrhoea is likely and can lead to dehydration. Diarolyte (or similar) is an oral rehydration available without prescription. Loperamide is an anti-diarrhoeal and Ciprofloxacin is an anti-biotic which usually clears up diarrhoea quickly - Ciprofloxacin is available in the UK on prescription only, it's available in Ghana without prescription.

Some general info about travel to Ghana...

~ Pretty much everything you can buy in the UK is readily available in Ghana at a fraction of the cost. It would be quite feasible to travel with basic hand luggage and buy everything you need over there.
~ If staying outside of hotels then take a mosquito sleeping net impregnated with repellent.
~ Drink only bottled or bagged water - it's cheap and available everywhere.
~ Mosquitoes will bite, keep covered up as much as possible. An anti-histamine cream is useful to reduce itching. Anti-H tablets such as Piriton are useful.
~ On arrival it's a good idea to register with the British Consulate in central Accra, it only takes a minute.
~ Travellers cheques are difficult to cash. Two branches of Standard Chartered and one branch of Barclays at Danquhar Circle in Accra will cash them. Your daughter will need her passport and original receipt. There's a limit of $200 and £150 respectively.
~ Cash machines are limited, there are some in the major cities, often at Western Union. Credit and debit cards are generally only accepted at tourist areas.
~ Cash in dollars, euros and pounds can easily be exchanged at Forex bureau which are all over the place and offer good exchange rates (avoid on Saturday evenings when the rates aren't so good).
~ Local cuisine can be an acquired taste, western style dishes are only really available in some restaurants in the larger towns and cities.
~ Haggle over the cost of everything and agree a price before setting off in a taxi.
~ Ghanaians are extremely friendly and it takes forever to get from A to B or to do anything because everyone wants to chat with you.

Travel Advice: http://www.masta-travel-health.com/
Travel Clinics:http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=1630
Malaria: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=462§ionId=19111
Yellow Fever: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=396§ionId=27030

Answer 2

First of all be carefull what kind of malaria shot or tablet she gets ok? To be honest with you I am not sure what the names of the two malaria tablets are, BUT I do know this for a fact, one of the two major malaria tablets/injections you can get WILL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES as a side effect!!! So please be sure you find out somehow what the two major malaria injections/tablets are first ok? I own a Yahoo group here on Yahoo thats all about Ghana and I know someone there can help you out for sure, as a matter of fact I gaurantee you someone there in my group can help you out:-) Just click here ok? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/visitghana/

Answer 3

Not familiar with the slang words,but if you mean a "shot' for prevention of Malaria,before traveling abroad check with the passport office to see if that's required before her trip. The date will be important to offer her the best protection. SW RNP

Answer 4

No, you have to pay for travel vaccinations. Sorry!

I thought malaria protection was in the form of tablets not injections anyway.

Yep, thought so, check out this website:http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/malaria.htm

Answer 5

er.... there is no VACCINE for malaria.

You get TABLETS for prevention (prophylaxis). Let her go to a travel clinic. Don't think she can get them on the NHS.

But for example, doxycycline you can get generic at a pharmacy for under 20 pounds for a month's supply. This is a daily tablet, and I've been taking it for a year and a half. She'll just need a prescription for it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

tablets for malaria can be obtained on the nhs to be taken before leaving for your destination and afterarriving home

Answer 7

Trailfinders have travel clinics where it can be done.

In my opinion there are too many non-essential procedures on the NHS already.

Answer 8

Doesn't the charity organization take care of necessary vaccinations? They should!

Answer 9

I had injections for travelling to africa, and i'm sure one was for malaria. Mine were done for free, by my gp.

Answer 10

I will pay it for her .... no problem, let the good old british tax payer pay, why fecking not?