Ecuador Medical Advice

What Jabs and Immunisations Do I Need?

We know that you want to make your Ecuador holiday as enjoyable as possible, and as with any holiday, that means being well-prepared for any potential health problems. We always recommend that anyone going on holiday with us visits their doctor or (even better) a specialist travel clinic before setting off as they will have up-to-the-minute advice on how to make sure you are medically ready for your holiday in Ecuador. However, we know it's always useful to have a few pointers, so here is some information we hope you find useful when planning your Ecuador holiday.

Standard Jabs and Immunisations for Ecuador

For most people, there aren't any compulsory jabs or immunisations required for entry to Ecuador. However, if you are entering from an area considered to be at risk of Yellow Fever, you may have to present a valid vaccination certificate. In practice this is unlikely to be an issue for most tourists but if you are not coming from the UK then do check with us as to the situation.

While not required, you will almost certainly be advised to check with your doctor that your boosters for the following diseases are up-to-date:

• Tetanus
• Typhoid
• Hepatitis A

It's possible that you may be advised to have a rabies jab for Ecuador. Please do seek professional advice on this matter but we would suggest that, while not totally eradicated in mainland Ecuador, rabies is not common (and doesn't exist at all in the Galapagos) and in any case you will never be further than 24 hours from a rabies jab so if we have to we can get you the jab within Ecuador.

Yellow Fever and Malaria

Outside of the central Andean belt and the urban centre of Guayaquil, Malaria is present throughout Ecuador. In particular if you are visiting the Amazon rainforest, for example on our Amazon adventure holiday then you will almost certainly be advised to take a short course of anti-malarials. Outside of these areas it won't be required, and so you usually only need a course for a few days to cover the time you will actually be in the Amazon basin or on the Pacific Coast.

Yellow Fever is officially only classed as a risk in the Amazon basin as well, but there is a minimal risk of it in the same coastal belt to the west of the Andes as malaria, so you may well be advised to get a yellow fever jab if you are travelling to the beach.

Altitude Sickness in Ecuador

If you are flying in to Quito, you are likely to notice the thin air immediately on arrival. Although the altitude here (2,800m) is unlikely to cause anyone any problems, trips further into the mountains can present you with rather higher altitudes and if you are planning to do any trekking in Ecuador, for example a trek in the Cotopaxi National Park, we always make sure you have a decent acclimatisation programme and will advise you accordingly. In addition to this, there are also drugs such as Diamox, which you can take to alleviate any symptoms. However, since these drugs do just mask the symptoms, you may prefer to just follow common sense advice: take it easy, avoid large meals, alcohol and cigarettes, and drink as much fluid as possible.