vaccinations for Beleze?

[tabbycat1]

Has anyone's doctor suggested getting vaccinations which are recommended by the CDC when visiting Beleze? Reading those recommendations has me feeling anxious to visit the ruins.

[Toyz711]

nope, not for a day trip. if i was going to stay there for a couple of weeks..maybe. besides, some of those shots can cause their own health problems.

[driftwood]

. . . before our visit from January 5-19, 2008. My physician, who has spent as much of his time in the Caribbean environment as his patients and wife permit him, only gave us prophylactic pills for malaria because we were going everywhere in the north of Belize for so long.

 

Two things to watch for certain: that no one consumes any food purchased from any street vendor, and no one drinks any juices purchased from any street vendor. You may very well get very ill, and the culprit may very well be Campylobacter sp. (q.v.). Unfortunately I may use my wife as an example, as she couldn't resist a taco from a vendor directly across from the Water Taxi terminal, and is still regretting her single lapse. Food or drink prepared in an establishment--as for example the Maya Cafe or The Smoky Mermaid--will be prepared with adequate safety precautions, using bottled water (which is processed by reverse osmosis in Belize, perhaps purer than you can get at home). Speak to everyone in your party before your trip--some of the street vendor foods and juices look very tempting on the ground! And of course impurities of one kind or another affect people in different ways . . . .

 

We have found the food prepared in the various little establishments around the country for the visiting tourists is quite safe, as was food prepared and brought by the tour guides: the government educates and regulates the food preparers and service workers as to the standards which must be maintained to protect the tourist industry, and the tour guides would shun any place they felt couldn't be trusted for their clientele, as they have to eat there too, and they can't afford any sick days themselves.

 

Use your insect repellent on everyone, NO MATTER WHERE YOUR SHORE EXCURSION LEADS YOU, (we used Deep Woods OFF! formula, 25% DEET, with wholly satisfactory results for two weeks). A very little is enough--the real enemy in Belize is the sun, which is VERY HOT AND DEHYDRATING. Sun block is much more important than insect repellent, and sun block should be generously slathered on first, before a light sprinkle or wipe of insect repellent. People will say "There were no mosquitoes at ________ when we were there!" But it is not true. And there are other insects besides mosquitoes, even in Belize City itself. :rolleyes: Lots of "no see 'ums"--but you will feel 'um in the evening when you return to your ship! :eek:

[Irish708]

Thank you driftwood, we will be going to the Western Caribbean later this year, and will heed your advice !

[driftwood]

Admittedly we did not have "the luck of the Irish!" But for her sake I wish Sheila had . . . . :D

[toodycat]

Thanks for the heads up! That was important info. As the mom in our party, I will make sure everyone heeds your advice.