Sub Saharan Africa

Hospital treatment in large cities of South Africa is good but can be expensive.  Medical facilities in rural areas can be basic.  In remote areas, air evacuation is sometimes the only option for medical emergencies.

There are confirmed human cases of A (H1N1) - Swine Flu in South Africa (source: World Health Organisation). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its Pandemic Threat Alert Phase to Level 6.  The WHO website at: www.who.int has further details. You should monitor local media reports for any further developments and advice. There is a dedicated Swine Flu page on this website. Guidance on Pandemic Flu is available on the UK Department of Health website at: www.dh.gov.uk.

TB, rabies, malaria and cholera are common to South Africa.  Malaria is common to Kruger Park and parts of Mpumalanga, Limpopo province and KwaZulu Natal (particularly the Wetlands area around St Lucia).

In December 2008, a case of rabies was reported in a woman from Northern Ireland who had worked with animals in South Africa in December 2006.  The Health Protection Agency is working with colleagues in South Africa and Northern Ireland to trace volunteers who have worked at the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation and Environmental Education Centre in Limpopo, South Africa.  For further information see Health Protection Agency - Wildlife centre traces volunteers following death from rabies. Country-specific information about rabies is available on the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) - South Africa country information.

There are periodic outbreaks of cholera in the poor communities of rural South Africa, especially in Northern KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo provinces. There has been an outbreak of cholera across the Limpopo region,, flowing from the major outbreak at Beigbridge on the Zimbabwe/South Africa border.  An increase in the number of acute diarrhoea cases have also been reported, including some in other provinces.  Travellers to Limpopo are advised to familiarise themselves with precautions needed to avoid cholera, in particular to drink or use only boiled or bottled water and avoid ice in drinks.  If you suffer from diarrhoea during a visit to South Africa you should seek immediate medical attention.  Further guidance can be found at:  http://www.nathnac.org/travel/factsheets/cholera.htm

Measles outbreaks occur from time to time in Kwa Zulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces. A measles outbreak occurred in September 2009, primarily in Gauteng province.

In the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that around 5,400,000 adults aged 15 or over in South Africa were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated at around 18.1% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%.  You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.

You should seek medical advice before travelling to South Africa and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up-to-date.  For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of the National Travel Health Network and Centre  (NaTHNaC) and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

For more general health information see Travel Health.