I called MIT Medical today to get some estimates on how much immunizations are going to cost us. Turns out that students are significantly covered with the Student Insurance Plan (even if you waived the extended plan). We just have to pay a $20 co-pay each for these immunizations:
- Cholera - Meningococcal
- Hepatitis A - Rabies (prophylactic)
- Hepatitis B - Typhoid (oral and injectible)
- ISG - Yellow Fever
- Japanese Encephalitis
beyond that, I ran in circles trying to get an estimate for malaria pills since apparently there are many variations of the pills that we would have to take. Most people told me that I needed a prescription before they could give me an estimate so maybe Ginger could tell us what pills she takes/what we should take and then ask Medical for an estimate.
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Hey guys, I just called my health care company, and I can get all
immunizations for free when i go in for a routine checkup, all for just
one copay of $15 (part of my plan). So I encourage all of you to check
with your personal healthcare providers and see what they say. We should
also check with MIT medical, as that copay might only be for the one
visit (or two if we can't get them all at once).
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This CDC Website has all the basic information we need---> http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationMauritania.aspx
Highlights:
Immunizations
Everyone needs to go to their doctor and figure out exactly what vaccines you need:
a. yellow fever
b. hepatitis A
c. hepatitis B
d. typhoid
e. polio
f. rabies... although I didn't know they had a vaccine for this. I thought it was an after-vaccine... okay whatever.
Malaria
We'll need to get anti-malarial medication and remind each other EVERY SINGLE DAY to eat it. This is our biggest health risk. Some symptoms fyi:
fever
chills
sweats
headache
body aches
nausea and vomiting
fatigue
Medicine To Bring
- your own prescription medication
- anti-diarrhea medication (VERY IMPORTANT)
- anti-malarial medication (VERY IMPORTANT)
- Iodine tablets and portable water filters to purify water (VERY IMPORTANT)
- Antibacterial hand wipes or alcohol-based hand sanitizer (VERY IMPORTANT)
- sunscreen and sunblock and a hat
Bug/Mosquito Bites
Because mosquito/bug bites are so scary and carry so many diseases, CDC also recommends that we:
Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and a hat to wear outside (I figure since we're going to have to wear very modest clothing, this shouldn't be a problem)
Use Insect spray containing pyrethroid insecticide
Sleep under bed nets treated with permethrin. See Insecticide Treated Bed Nets on the CDC malaria site.
We can also discuss some of these health issues with Zac or others who live/have traveled to Mauritania to get an idea of how they combat health/sanitation issues.