Ghanatravel vaccines & health advice · from Calgary

Malaria

CDC puts malaria transmission in all areas of Ghana and recommends that travellers take prescription medicine to prevent it. There is no altitude you can climb above and no city that sits outside the risk area — Accra is inside it. The Government of Canada states that malaria is a risk to travellers to this destination and that antimalarial medication is recommended for most travellers.

Prevention Tablets, chosen against your itinerary and your other medicines, started before you fly. Plus bite prevention: repellent, covered arms and legs after dark, a treated net where rooms are open. If you develop a fever after you get home, tell the doctor you were in Ghana — it is the single most useful sentence you can say.

Getting treated, and getting out

The Government of Canada states that health care is inadequate outside Accra, that emergency medical attention and serious illnesses require medical evacuation, and that medical services usually require immediate cash payment.

Prevention Travel insurance that explicitly covers medical evacuation, with the policy number and the emergency line saved offline. A travel health kit, which the same source recommends packing especially if you are going away from major city centres — because replacing it locally may not be quick.

Roads

The Government of Canada describes road conditions and safety as varying greatly — generally good in cities, poor in rural areas — and advises avoiding driving after dark and limiting intercity travel to daytime hours. CDC notes that motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of healthy travellers abroad.

Prevention No intercity driving after dark, which is the single rule that does the most work. Seatbelts, including in the back. If you can use a driver rather than drive yourself, do.

Schistosomiasis

A parasite you pick up from fresh water. CDC describes the risk as wading, swimming, bathing or washing in contaminated freshwater streams. The Government of Canada says there is a risk in this destination, that most travellers are at low risk, and that travellers should avoid contact with untreated freshwater. There is no vaccine and no preventive tablet, so avoidance is the whole strategy.

Prevention No wading, swimming or bathing in lakes, rivers, ponds or dams, however hot the day. Chlorinated pools are fine, and so is the sea.

Lassa fever

Both sources name it. CDC describes it as spread by breathing air or eating food contaminated with the urine or droppings of infected rats, or through contact with the body fluids of an infected person. The Government of Canada says Lassa fever is a risk in this country and that the risk is low for most travellers. There is no vaccine.

Prevention Avoid rodents and the places they live and nest. Store food in sealed containers, do not eat food that rodents may have been into, and keep away from anyone who is unwell with a fever until they have been assessed.

Dengue and chikungunya

The Government of Canada describes the risk of dengue as sporadic in Ghana and says there is a risk of chikungunya. CDC lists dengue among the bug-borne diseases to protect against. The mosquitoes that carry both bite during daylight hours, which catches people who only think about repellent at dusk.

Prevention Repellent through the day, not only in the evening — CDC advises 20 per cent or more DEET for protection lasting several hours, and picaridin is a good alternative. Loose long sleeves in the heat do more than they look like they will.

Animals, and rabies in particular

CDC states that dogs infected with rabies are commonly found in Ghana and advises not touching or feeding animals you do not know. Children are the ones who approach a friendly-looking dog, and the ones least likely to mention a scratch afterwards.

Prevention No touching dogs, cats or monkeys. Any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin: wash it with soap and running water for a full fifteen minutes, then seek medical advice the same day — do not wait to see how it looks tomorrow.

The sea

The Government of Canada says coastal waters can be dangerous, that riptides are common, and that several drownings occur each year. It also advises against going to isolated beaches. This does not appear on many vaccine pages and it kills more travellers than most things that do.

Prevention Swim where other people are swimming and where somebody is watching. Take local advice about a beach seriously even when the water looks calm.

Avian influenza

The Government of Canada notes that human cases of avian influenza have been reported in this destination and that the risk is low for most travellers.

Prevention Avoid contact with birds — wild, farm and backyard, alive or dead — and give live-bird markets a wide berth. Poultry and eggs cooked through are fine.

One appointment can cover everyone

Bring the whole household to the same consultation. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one, which usually means fewer visits and no repeated explanations. Tell us how many people when you book so we set aside the time.

Yellow fever applies to children too — from nine months

Both the recommendation and Ghana’s entry requirement are written from nine months of age, so a nine-month-old needs the vaccine and the certificate the same as an adult does. Below nine months it stops being a question about the vaccine and becomes a question about the trip, and that is a conversation to have early rather than late.

Malaria tablets for children are weighed, not guessed

The four options CDC lists are not interchangeable for a child, and the dose follows current weight rather than age. Bring recent weights to the appointment and it saves a second visit. Ghana has no malaria-free area, so this applies wherever you are going.

Hepatitis A starts at twelve months — with an option below that

CDC recommends hepatitis A vaccination for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over, and notes that infants aged 6 to 11 months are also eligible for a travel dose. That early dose does not count towards the routine childhood schedule and is repeated later, which is worth knowing before you are surprised by it at the next appointment.

The fresh-water rule is the hardest one with children

Schistosomiasis has no vaccine and no preventive medicine, so staying out of lakes, rivers and ponds is a rule rather than a precaution — and it is the rule that breaks first on a hot afternoon near water. Worth explaining before the trip rather than at the shoreline. The same goes for stray dogs: rabid dogs are commonly found in Ghana, and children are the ones who go over to say hello.