Car rental Gabon - Other Health Information

Book car rentals in Gabon now!

Other Health Information

OTHER HEALTH INFORMATION: Malaria is found in many parts of Central Africa, including Gabon. P. falciparum malaria, the serious and sometimes fatal strain in Gabon, is resistant to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine. Because travelers to Gabon are at high risk for contracting malaria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that travelers should take one of the following antimalarial drugs: mefloquine (Lariam™), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone™). The CDC has determined that a traveler who is on an appropriate antimalarial drug has a greatly reduced chance of contracting the disease. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what antimalarials they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and antimalarials, please visit the CDC Travelers' Health website at: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malaria.

In recent years, Gabon has been subject to limited outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which have generally been confined to remote rural areas of the country. Ebola is a severe, often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) that is transmitted by contact with an infected person's blood, bodily fluids and tissues. The virus is not transmitted through casual contact, and it is only contagious during its active phase. No vaccine or antiviral medication is available for treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

As a precautionary measure, persons should avoid funeral rites that involve close proximity to the deceased or funeral attendees. Rapid spread of the virus in hospitals and other health-care settings, and through eating or handling dead, infected primates, have also been important contributing factors in previous outbreaks of Ebola. More information on Ebola may be found on the World Health Organization's web site at http://www.who.int/en and http://www.who.int/ith, as well as on the CDC's web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/index.htm.

Further information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect-bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at telephone 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov.