Malaria & Yellow Fever

I've just had a chat with the nurse who was giving me advice on Malaria tablets. These are required (although having been there for 4 months before, the risk appeared to be pretty minimal). The most popular one is Malarone which you take for a short amount of time but is pretty expensive (about £3 or £4 per day) or alternatively you can take Doxycycline. This is also a once a day tablet but it can have side effects like heartburn and increased sensivitity to sun, so check with your doc which would be best for you. You also have to continue it for a month after you get home. My surgery charges £10 for a Doxy prescription and then the tablets are about £5 for 50 which will be more than enough. I think there are other options including Larium so best to speak with the doc.

In terms of Yellow Fever, the jab is recommended but not required. However, the nurse advises me that on occasion, they could try and give you the jab at the airport if you don't have it already but it pretty much depends on who you get on the day. If you want it, I think it's worth shopping around for where you can have it done because different places charge different amounts. My surgery charges £45 which is the cheapest I've seen it. Not all surgeries will do it though and you may have to go to a special travel clinic. I had mine done at the Trailfinders on High St Kensington and I think it was £50.

If you live in or around South West London and want to have your Yellow Fever jab done in Putney, the surgery is called Putneymead Medical Centre, 350 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, SW15 6TL and the nurse can be reached on 020 8788 0686. You will be registered as a private patient for the jab because it's not provided on the NHS so it doesn't matter that you're not fully registered tot he surgery.