Trekking is an activity that can not only fuel a sense of adventure but also broaden the mind and improve fitness and wellbeing. Unless, of course, it also brings a trekker into contact with a variety of tropical diseases against which vaccination is required.
For this reason, the team at Pinpoint Travel Health has been focusing on some of the popular locations in which you might well wish to pull on your trekking gear and boots and take to the hills, valleys, rice fields and mountain ranges. We have considered not just locations but some of the activities and accommodation you might encounter, to suggest why it might be advisable to plot your individual trip, both in terms of itinerary and activities to be undertaken – with the assistance of Pinpoint Travel Health’s precise and advanced system.
When matched up with time of travel, your age and medical conditions, this will help you consider not just the cost of your trekking adventure but the additional outlay you should commit to travel vaccinations, to keep yourself safe and healthy and your travel insurance policy valid.
Morocco – the Atlas Mountains
If intending to trek along the rugged mountain paths of the Atlas Mountains, or visit a traditional Moroccan village such as Armed, you may need to check that your tetanus record is up to date and maybe also think about having a rabies jab. As with all trekking holidays, be careful about the water that you drink, as it could potentially be contaminated, making typhoid another vaccination that could prove vital. If your accommodation is extremely basic, and sanitation poor, there could also be a need for a Hepatitis A vaccine. Ensuring you have had a coronavirus jab is also important.
Peru
Peru is another popular place in which to trek, to see wonders such as the Inca city of Machu Picchu, observe wildlife such as condors circling above and witness glories including the Rainbow Mountains. However, whilst trekking, you have to consider rabies and also the risk of malaria. Bite prevention is important and you should seek to keep mosquitoes at bay. What level of sanitation will there be in your accommodation and will you need to consider Hep A and typhoid? Will you venture into areas with a yellow fever risk? And, if mingling with locals, in local accommodation, could diphtheria present an issue?
Patagonia
The considerations that apply in Peru are also relevant in Patagonia. Do check that you had vaccinations as a child, with this including tetanus jabs. Malaria is not really an issue in Argentina and Patagonia but dengue fever is present, making bite prevention important here too. Get your vaccination strategy right and you should be able to enjoy trekking experiences that enable you to witness frozen lakes, incredible glaciers and rugged mountains, whilst saying hello to a penguin or two, as you perhaps trek to the world’s most southern city, Ushuaia.
Ecuador
One thing of which to be very aware, if trekking in Ecuador or traversing several countries in South America, is that a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate has to be produced by anyone over the age of one, who is arriving into Ecuador from Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Uganda. The same is true for travellers who transited through an airport, in any of these countries, for more than 12 hours. If you are allowed entry for your trekking experience, you may be able to hike around the active volcano of Cotopaxi and walk from crater to crater along the Avenue of the Volcanoes. 90 species of bird should create a cacophony of sound, as you explore the Cotopaxi National Park.
Vietnam
Organised treks around Vietnam delight in explaining how you will trek through rice terraces and mingle with the local hilltribes, absorbing their culture and cuisine, whilst also enjoying some of their accommodation choices. This should set a few alarm bells ringing with regard to Japanese encephalitis and the need for vaccination against it, as your accommodation is highly unlikely to come with mosquito screens or maybe even nets. Bite prevention, to avoid Japanese encephalitis will be a major challenge and you will also need to know the malaria risk in the area you are visiting. Order a Pinpoint Travel Health report, by using the Travel Health Brief service, to plot out your rice-field trek and what it means for your vaccination and anti-malarial requirements.
Malaysia (Borneo)
If you intend trekking here, to take in the delights of places such as Turtle Island, Poring Hot Springs and Kinabalu National Park, not to mention perhaps an orangutan reserve and tribal villages, be very aware of the need for Yellow Fever certification. You will require this if you have arrived from a country with a risk of Yellow Fever transmission, or spent 12 hours or more in transit in an airport in a country that carries this risk. Here, your exact itinerary and intentions will determine whether you need vaccination against diseases like Japanese encephalitis or rabies, so complete a Travel Health Brief and detail your plans, so you can perfect your vaccination strategy.
Jordan
You may be tempted to trek to Petra and go off the beaten track, living life with Bedouin tribes and enjoying their hospitality. Do remember that poor sanitation and personal hygiene are factors that cause diseases like Hepatitis A, so try to ascertain the standard of facility in which you will eat and live. If you do not know, it is better to take precautions and get your vaccinations set up. Another one you may wish to order, particularly suggested for trekkers, is a rabies vaccination.
Kilimanjaro Trek
You will need to do some serious vaccination planning for a trek around Kilimanjaro, with Tanzania being a country in which many diseases are present, dependent on location and type of community or accommodation. You will need Yellow Fever certification and should be aware that malaria is rife and anti-malarial planning and bite prevention key. Your childhood vaccination record will also need to be checked, particularly as polio is another risk. Get all of this pre-trip vaccination and anti-malarial planning right, with the help of Pinpoint Travel Health, and you should be able to enjoy the forests, alpine meadows and glorious views around Kilimanjaro. Just watch out for the dust and dirt and giant cacti fields with their painful spines, and make sure your tetanus jabs were all administered in your school years.
These are just some of the many trek experiences that you can enjoy across the world, taking you off the beaten track and away from modern-day facilities and levels of sanitation, at times. Plan your travel health requirements carefully, if you wish to enjoy these adventures to the full and not have to recuperate for a period after your trip, or suffer even more than that, simply because you did not take the right precautions.
For help with that, order your personalised Travel Health Brief today, by heading to our home page. We will analyse your precise trip, right down to village level, the activities you will be partaking in and your age, pre-existing health conditions and medications. Once all of that is reviewed, your own personal report will be generated, highlighting which vaccinations you need to have in place and which you can perhaps go without, according to your date of travel and areas visited.