Vital information

Health and Malawi
There are some important health issues that you need to know about. We are not medical practitioners so for more information and expert advice you should contact your doctor. Please treat this section as a guideline-it is by no means comprehensive You can also contact the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in King's Cross London -on request they produce up to date health dossiers on most countries in the world. The health section in the Lonely Planet Guide to Malawi also gives some good information.

The purpose of this section is not to scare you away -with sensible precautions you should be fine-but it is important to know the potential dangers and thus avoid an avoidable problem which could seriously affect your holiday. What we need to alert you to is a worst case scenario-i.e a serious accident away from proper and speedy medical care-we all know this is unlikely but it is only fair to let you know of the potential problems.

Medical Insurance and facilities in Malawi
Medical and emergency facilities are extremely limited-the major centres such as Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre do have hospitals and private clinics but as soon as you travel away from the major centers , medical care is very basic and often non existent. Some of the rural areas have clinics capable of treating basic illnesses but often these clinics are poorly funded and suffer from a chronic shortage of basic drugs. In the unlikely event of a medical emergency needing medical evacuation by aircraft there are 2 issues to consider-you may have an insurance which covers you for this eventuality but the reaction time of the local emergency services is going to vary depending on where you are. From Lilongwe or Blantyre it can take up to 5 hours or more to call in an air ambulance either from South Africa or Zimbabwe-none are available in Malawi but an emergency situation in an area away from a major centre could take much longer.

Communication
All festival goers have access to a 24 hour emergency number-this is 0 8 822 398 . However not all parts of Malawi have either mobile phone coverage or local ground line phones-see the separate section on communications. Medical Insurance We strongly advise that you take out some form of medical insurance-there are a number of policies available in UK and while basic treatment of minor illnesses is very reasonable in Malawi , private clinics can be expensive and will often ask for an insurance policy before beginning treatment.

What to watch out for
Please note that the section below is by no means comprehensive, it lists what we believe to be the main issues you need to be aware of..

Malaria
Malaria is probably the greatest danger faced by travellers to Malawi. You should be on a course of malaria prophylaxis and your doctor can advise you on what to take. Although September is our dry season and not the worst time for malaria it is around throughout the year. You should also bring a good quantity of insect repellent-it is often unavailable in Malawi and from dusk to dawn should use liberal quantities-the most effective repellents have DEET as their active ingredient. Ideally you should also sleep under a mosquito net-most establishments along the lakeshore will supply these and if you are camping, most tents are mosquito proof but if you are travelling independently it will be worth buying a small fold up mosquito net.. If you take these precautions you should be OK but NO preventative offers 100% protection. Malaria usually takes hold within 14 days of the bite but can be sooner and one of the problems for first time victims is that the initial symptoms may seem mild and are thus not recognized or shrugged off-this can be a major problem-if it is diagnosed early it can easily be treated and you can avoid serious illness-delay by a day and a mild dose can become a full blown high fever and at its worst a life threatening illness. Despite the warning above about limited medical facilities, malaria is so common in Malawi that often even the most basic village clinics will be able to speedily diagnose it and prescribe treatment. For those staying for longer than a week in the country watch out for aches and pains, particularly in the shoulder area, and a distinct feeling of lethargy. As malaria progesses it is accompanied by high fevers and hot and cold shivers .

Bilharzia or schistosomiasis
This affliction is caused by minute worms hosted either by; certain water snails or infected humans.Both hosts need to be present for transmission of the disease. The worm enters the human bloodstream, swims up to the liver and causes havoc. The disease is commion allover Africa where there is water but is more particularly present in stagnant water and near human habitation. The beach at Chintheche Inn is regularly tested for bilharzia and to date, none has been found here, probably because of the almost constant wave action. However the only true statement about the disease is that there is probably nowhere in Lake Malawi that you can guarantee it will not be present. However to keep it in perspective -you are not likely to come to Malawi in hot september and not want to swim in the lake and with sensible precautions it is safe to. Make sure that you towel off vigorously as soon as you not to have swum and if you notice that you itch after swinning then you should get a blood test on your return to UK . The disease; is easily and completely; cured with a course of biltracide. As with malaria but even more so, the initial stages of the disease can be quite benign. The author of this section swam over 100 times at Chintheche in 2003 and did not get bilharzia so the message is:

You have to be aware of the possibility of getting this disease if you swim in the lake.
Areas with good and regular wave action are unlikely to have it.
Stepping into stagnant puddles on the lakeshore in the middle of busy villages is a high risk activity.
If in doubt get a simple blood test on your return to UK.

Stomach upsets and dehydration
Diarrhoea can ruin a holiday!!!! Tap water in Malawi is generally to be avoided -you can buy bottled water in the major centres and at Chintheche there will be a supply of filtered water. We strongly suggest avoiding water unless you know it has been boiled or filtered, and also to carry a small supply of "stoppers" for emergencies . Dehydration is a common problem-it can be a major and serious side effect of diarrhoea as well as an affliction in its own right and the symptoms creep up on you-irritability, headaches, lack of energy. September is hot and it is a wise move to keep hydrated-carry a water bottle, and drink regularly, particularly if you have stomach problems. This often overlooked point can spoil your day and is 100% avoidable. Sunburn Although this may seem like a statement of the obvious, guests on a short stay in Malawi are not going to get acclimatised to the burning sun in a hurry and particularly during the festival itself, if you have been dancing in the sun for a few hours , the sun could do some serios damage-please be aware of this and either keep your more vulnerable parts loosely covered and/or bring plenty of sun cream-the higher the proytective facto the better-this is another commodity not freely available in Malawi. Minor cuts and grazes In hot sun these can turn nasty in nio time-treat immediately with clean water and antiseptic cream or powder.

What to bring
OK-Lets' be sensible!! Some people come with nothing-some come with hugely complex medical kits. Somewhere in between is our suggestion and for this we apologise in advance to Lonely Planet as we have unashamedly plagiarised their excellent recommendations. Pharmacies are few and far between here so if you do run out of something en route, do not assume you can pop down to the local chemist to get it-the local chemist may not have it or may be 200 miles away.

Anti histamine for insect bites
Imodium or lomotil (diarrhoea)
Antiseptic cream
Multivitamins
Calamine lotion
Band aids and bandages
Insect repellent
Sun cream
A couple of clean needles for emergencies
Water purification tablets