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Health
| | Special Precautions | Certificate Required | | Yellow Fever | Yes | 1 | | Cholera | 2 | No | | Typhoid and Polio | 3 | N/A | | Malaria | 4 | N/A |
1: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over one year of age arriving from infected areas. Travellers arriving from non-endemic zones should note that vaccination is strongly recommended for travel outside the urban areas, even if an outbreak of the disease has not been reported and they would normally not require a vaccination certificate to enter the country.
2: Following WHO guidelines issued in 1973, a cholera vaccination certificate is not a condition of entry to Uganda. However, cholera is a serious risk in this country and precautions are essential. Up-to-date advice should be sought before deciding whether these precautions should include vaccination, as medical opinion is divided over its effectiveness. See the Health appendix for more information.
3: Typhoid is widespread and immunisation is advised.
4: Malaria risk, predominantly in the malignant falciparum form, occurs all year throughout the country, including the main towns of Fort Portal, Jinja, Kampala, Mbale and parts of Kigezi. Resistance to chloroquine has been reported.
Food & drink: All water should be regarded as being a potential health risk. Water used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should have first been boiled or otherwise sterilised. Milk is unpasteurised and should be boiled. Powdered or tinned milk is available and is advised, but make sure that it is reconstituted with pure water. Avoid dairy products which are likely to have been made from unboiled milk. Only eat well-cooked meat and fish, preferably served hot. Pork, salad and mayonnaise may carry increased risk. Vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled.
Other risks: Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is present. Avoid swimming and paddling in fresh water. Swimming pools which are well chlorinated and maintained are safe. Meningitis risk exists, depending on area visited and time of year. Hepatitis A, B and E, and tuberculosis occur. Sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) is reported. Rabies is present. For those at high risk, vaccination before arrival should be considered. If you are bitten, seek medical advice without delay. For more information, consult the Health appendix.
Note: In October 2000, there was an outbreak of the ebola virus in the Gulu area of northern Uganda near the border with Sudan. The virus can only be spread through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of infected people. The outbreak is now under control, but travellers wishing to obtain up-to-date information should consult the Ugandan Ministry of Health (website: www.health.go.ug).
Health Care: Visitors should bring personal supplies of medicines that are likely to be needed, but enquire first at the Embassy or High Commission whether such supplies may be freely imported. Comprehensive health insurance is essential and should include cover for emergency air repatriation in case of serious accident or illness. The Ugandan health service has still not recovered from the mass departure of foreign personnel in 1972 and there are medical facilities of a reasonable standard only in large towns and cities.
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