Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
So, Bruce, what packaging bags are you taking and what have you packed for the trip. What
kind of things do you feel vital to take with you to Africa?
“Again, I just am doing what I am told at this point in time. I'm taking a gun and I'm taking
ammunition that is packed in with the gun. Those things [are] packed in a fairly long, relatively
thin bag that looks like a golf club bag or something like that, and I've got the gun and the
ammunition and then most of the clothes packed in there. For two weeks I'm really not taking
very much in the way of clothes. I've got probably four different sets of clothes in terms of
shirts and pants. I brought a wool sweater along in case it gets cold and then I have one of my
fishing jackets that is in green - everything is pretty much in green. I don't have any camel and
I really did that because that is what Craig Boddington and our professional hunter says to do.
So I have two pairs of boots that I am taking and they are both crepe soled for sneaking up on
these animals, and I have a hat and basically a rain poncho and that's pretty much it from the
standpoint of clothes. And then from the standpoint of equipment I am taking a pair of
binoculars. I am bringing a range finder and a special apparatus for carrying my binoculars.
Also the holster for when I might be carrying a gun for a long distance, and I am taking a whole
lot of bug spray of various kinds.”
How about medications for Southern Africa and your preparation for that?
“Well, unfortunately at this point in my life I am really carrying a lot of medication on this
trip. Some of it is the Lipitor and the Niacin and the anti-gout medications that I have to take as
a matter of course, and aspirin. And then there is a special African medication - the Malarone,
and the Ciprofloxacin and the generic Ambien that hopefully will let me sleep on the plane.
That is a lot of bottles of pills.”
You also had some vaccinations before this trip didn't you?
“Well, the vaccinations included rabies, tetanus, yellow fever, hepatitis”
Did you have the polio?
“I'm not certain if I did I don't think I got that separately.”
There haven't really been any cases of polio except in Ethiopia and Nigeria, for a long time.
The Travel Office recommended I have some polio vaccine, so I did that. But yellow fever is
making a comeback and it is worth noting that it used to be a big killer in the USA and in the
late 1790s, in a much smaller population in Philadelphia, 5,000 people died. Just like West
Nile Fever and Eastern Equine fever, some of these tropical diseases could again become an
issue.
“Well, I took whatever they recommended and then some. They didn't recommend rabies
and I took that specifically because one of the articles I read by Peter Flack said you really
ought to take rabies, and so I took that.”
I didn't get down there in time for rabies. They told me it takes 6 weeks to do the full course
of rabies. You need 3 shots before hand and, as you pointed out, if you do that, then they will
evacuate you out of Africa for potential rabies, otherwise you are stuck there until you have
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