South Africa prides itself in the standard of our Medical facilities within the urban areas of South Africa, but you will find that in rural areas the clinics and hospitals deal with primary health needs, and therefore do not offer the range of medical care that the large metropolitan hospitals do. Trained medical caregivers are deployed round the country, so help is never far away.

Inoculations / Immunisations
Inoculation certificates are only needed from travellers coming from a yellow-fever endemic area. (the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America), Please remember to have the inoculation at least four to six weeks prior to travelling as the certificate only becomes valid 10 days after inoculation.

Hepatitis B inoculations are recommended for children up to the age of 12 who have not completed the series of injections as infants. Booster doses for tetanus and measles can also be administered.

Food and Drink
The tap (faucet) water in South Africa is treated so as to be free of harmful micro-organisms, and in any area other than informal or shack settlements, is both palatable and safe to drink straight from the tap. In some areas, the water is mineral-rich, and you may experience a bit of gastric distress for a day or two until you get used to it. Bottled mineral water, both sparkling and still, is readily available in most places. Milk is pasteurised and dairy products are safe for consumption. Local meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables are generally considered safe to eat.

Malaria
The majority of the main tourist areas are malaria-free, it is only the anopheles mosquito, (malaria carrying mosquito), which subsist in certain areas. These mosquitoes operate almost exclusively after dark. The following areas are deemed to be high risk areas in the summer months:

Certain areas of the Kruger National Park: stretching to Messina on the Zimbabwean border. The Lowverd of Mpumalange and Limpopo, and the Northern part of KwaZulu Natal. Many local people and some travellers do not take malaria prophylaxis, but most health professionals recommend you do. Consult your doctor or a specialist travel clinic for the latest advice concerning malaria prophylaxis, as it changes regularly.

It is also recommended to always use mosquito repellent at night in any area during the summer months for the prevention of irritating mosquito bites and the use of a mosquito net in endemic areas.

HIV/Aids
AIDS is a serious disease, first recognized as a distinct syndrome in 1981. This syndrome represents the late clinical state of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), resulting in progressive damage to the immune system and in life-threatening infectious and noninfectious complications.

Occurrence
AIDS and HIV infection occur worldwide. Comprehensive surveillance systems are lacking in many countries, so the true number of cases is likely to be far greater than the numbers officially reported, particularly from developing nations.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 34.3 million people are HIV-infected worldwide. Because HIV infection and AIDS are globally distributed, the risk to international travelers is determined less by their geographic destination than by their sexual and drug-using behaviors.

Risk for Travelers
The risk of HIV infection for international travelers is generally low. Factors to consider when assessing risk include the extent of direct contact with blood or secretions and of sexual contact with potentially infected people. In addition, the blood supply in developing countries might not be adequately screened.

Preventive Measures
No vaccine is available to prevent infection with HIV. For information on the safety of vaccines for HIV-infected people, see Vaccine Recommendations for Travelers With Altered Immunocompetence, Including HIV.

Travelers should be advised that HIV infection is preventable. HIV is transmitted through sexual intercourse and needle- or syringe-sharing; by medical use of blood, blood components, or organ or tissue transplantation; and perinatally from an infected woman to her infant.

HIV is not transmitted through casual contact; air, food, or water routes; contact with inanimate objects; or mosquitoes or other arthropod vectors. The use of any public conveyance (for example, an airplane, an automobile, a boat, a bus, or a train) by people with AIDS or HIV infection does not pose a risk of infection for the crew members or other travelers.

Travelers should be advised that they are at risk if they:
Have sexual intercourse (heterosexual or homosexual) with an infected person.
Use or allow the use of contaminated, unsterilized syringes or needles for any injections or other skin-piercing procedures, including acupuncture, use of illicit drugs, steroid or vitamin injections, medical or dental procedures, ear or body piercing, or tattooing.

Use infected blood, blood components, or clotting factor concentrates. HIV infection by this route is rare in those countries or cities where donated blood and plasma are screened for HIV antibody.

Travelers should be advised to avoid sexual encounters with people who are infected with HIV or whose HIV infection status is unknown. This includes avoiding sexual activity with intravenous drug users and people with multiple sexual partners, such as male or female sex workers. Condoms, when used consistently and correctly, prevent transmission of HIV. Travelers who engage in vaginal, anal, or oral-genital intercourse with anyone who is infected with HIV or whose infection status is unknown should use a latex condom. For those who are sensitive to latex, polyurethane or other plastic condoms are available. (Travelers should be advised to look for the words "for the prevention of disease" on the condom packaging.)

In many countries, needle sharing by intravenous drug users is a major source of HIV transmission and other infections, such as hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV). Travelers should be advised not to use drugs intravenously or share needles for any purpose.

In the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and western European countries, the risk of transfusion-associated HIV infection has been virtually eliminated through required testing of all donated blood for antibody to HIV. In the United States, donations of blood and plasma must be screened for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies and HIV-1 p24 antigen.

If produced in the United States according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved procedures, immune globulin preparations (such as those used for the prevention of hepatitis A (HAV) and HBV) and HBV vaccines undergo processes that are known to inactivate HIV; therefore, these products should be used as indicated. Less developed nations might not have a formal program for testing blood or biological products for antibody to HIV. In those countries, travelers should (when medically prudent) avoid use of unscreened blood-clotting factor concentrates or those of uncertain purity. If transfusion is necessary, the blood should be tested, if at all possible, for HIV antibody by appropriately trained laboratory technicians using a reliable test. (See WHO Blood Transfusion Guidelines for International Travelers for additional information.)