Malaria in Vanuatu and other health issues for cruising yachts.

Malaria does occur in Vanuatu - and it is only one of several diseases you can get from mosquito bites. The further north you go, the worse the risk of malaria. There have been cases of malaria that originated in Efate and even in Port Vila, but these probably came from carriers of the disease from more northerly islands.

However, mosquitoes in all the islands of Vanuatu can infect you with one of several varieties of blood virus commonly called dengue fever.

Of the two major mosquito borne diseases malaria is by far the most dangerous but dengue fever also kills people and is much more common - and therefore a greater risk. Dengue fever is carried by "domestic" mosquitos that thrive near villages. They also bite during the daytime, but are more likely to attack during dusk and dawn.

The risk of infection by either disease is small provided you follow one simple instruction - don't get bit by mosquitos. This is actually very easy to accomplish if you:

1. Always wear a reliable mosquito repellent (like Bushman's) containing DEET on any exposed skin when you go ashore - especially if you go ashore in the evening or at night or go trekking in remote areas of Vanuatu..

2. Make sure your boat is outfitted with mosquito screens and put into place without fail every evening before dusk.

Other parasites and diseases

As anywhere in the tropics shore water is potentially a source of a wide range of pathogens. If you don't have a good watermaker onboard, drink bottled water, green coconuts, or purify the drinking water in your tanks with MMS (MMS is Chlorine dioxide - it happens also to be the primary water purification chemical used in European public water supplies).

Marine cuts and abrasions

Any cut or abrasion that you get in the marine environment (including when scrubbing the bottom of your boat or cleaning the propeller) is a risk of serious infection. Always treat any marine cut or abrasion as soon as possible either with bleach. Do not put iodine on these wounds as the marine bacteria are not harmed by iodine but they are quickly killed by chlorine.

 

 

Dangerous Marine Animals

Vanuatu has it's share of dangerous marine animals including sharks, stonefish, cone shells, and sea snakes. Basically, if you watch where you put your hands and feet and don't molest sea creatures you'll have little to worry about. However there are some locations where there are dangerous sharks. Sharks live a long time and if one of them begins to attack humans the local people know about it. You should always ask the chief of the nearest village if it is permissible to dive on a reef (they own the reefs) and at the same time ask if sharks are a problem.

Known dangerous locations are Waterfall Bay on Gaua, Port Sandwich and the area between Wala and S Islands on Malekula.

The Cruising Guide to Vanuatu has a full section on health issues, dangerous marine animals and treatments.

 

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDES SAVE TIME AND MONEY If you want the guides without delay and without the postage and handling fees, and if you have a good fast Internet connection you can download your guides now and save money. After payment you will be transferred to a page with installation instructions and download links. At the same time you will also be sent a receipt for your purchase and a separate email with the links and more detailed installation and activation instructions. The links are only valid 48 hours so be ready to do the big downloads within 48 hours before making payment. You HAVE to use a download manager like www.freedownloadmanager.org to assure the download will be uncorrupted. Many people who do not use a download manager have problems and waste their time and mine with download issues. In the end they use a download manager program and have no problem. So do it right the first time, please, the download manager program does not cost anything and will greatly speed up the download for you. Before you can use the cruising guide you, will need to activate it on the computer you will use while cruising (it will only work on the computer you activate it on). If you use another computer to download the file (for example your office or home computer), transfer the downloaded ZIP files to your cruising computer via a USB key and then activate it. (The companion tourism guide does not need activation). For details on downloading and installing the guides click here. For details on activation of the cruising guide click here.
Download the Cruising Guide to Vanuatu Windows Installation Programs 297MB and the companion Activity and Travel Guide 548MB for AUD$90.00. The download links are valid for 24hrs.	Download
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Order the Cruising Guide to Vanuatu and the companion Activity and Travel Guide Windows installation programs on DVD. This is a great gift for anyone headed to Vanuatu aboard a yacht or who intends to charter a yacht in Vanuatu, plan a diving trip to remote areas or a sea-kayak expedition. AUD$110 includes air mail and handling to your billing or paypal address. If you want it sent elsewhere contact us before ordering. Expect the post office to take 1 to 4 weeks to get it to you.	DVD AUD$110
Special 4 Guide set: Cruising and Travel Guides to Vanuatu and New Caledonia This DVD will give you complete coverage of everything you need to know to cruise New Caledonia and Vanuatu, including every practical anchorage between Isle of Pines in the south of New Caledonia to the Banks and Torres islands in the north of Vanuatu. AUD$260 includes air mail and handling to your billing or paypal address. If you want it sent elsewhere contact us before ordering. Expect the post office to take 1 to 4 weeks to get it to you.	Vanuatu and New Caledonia DVD AUD$260