Swimming in lakes

Hello!

I am jsut wondering wich lakes in Tanzania or Uganda are safe to swim in? By this I mean disease free:)!

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I am not sure if lake Tanganyka is safe.

Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda. No crocodiles. No hippos.

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Hippos kill more people each year than lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos combined

http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/6439/Hippos-kill-more-people-each-year-than-lions-elephants-leopards-buffaloes-and-rhinos-combined

tikitoki send me a link showing that there was someone eaten by crocodile or hippos in mahale or Gombe

I was mainly asking about diseases. Is there not bilharzia there?

Hi. At least in Lake Victoria is bilharzia, even if the local boys are going into the water.

No bilharzia in Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda. (See Page 445 of LP East Africa guide). I saw quite a few travellers swimming there.

I have swam in Lake Tanganyika many times with no problem also Lake Nyasa but was warned not to swim in Lake Victoria because of bilharzia.

CDC claims both of this lakes have bilharzia and there are known cases of people catching it there.

There are also known cases of people drowning in lakes. 2 tourists drowned in lake Bunyonyi the week before I was there.
If you're that worried about catching bilharzia, get yourself tested when you get home.
Personally, I wouldn't swim in Lake Victoria, you can see the snails that carry the disease on the beaches. But I was happily enjoying swimming in the cool waters of Lake Nyasa 2 weeks ago.

Medicine used to treat Bilharzia is not easy on the body. I heared of people drowning in one other lake as well. But I guess the real question is the reason for drowning, some people can commit suicide, some people overestimate their skill as swimmers,... so I would only worry if drowning was due to some strong currents or something out of your control and unpredicatable, like storms that turn over fishing boats and cause fishermans deaths on lake Viktoria.
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As for testing, they wanted 200 USD for that. Not something you would pay for a dip in a lake, would you?

Lake Nyasa doesnt have Bilharzia, but I hear there is a lot of Malaria and especially cerebral malaria. Otherwise it is supposed to be safe, except for Crocodiles.

Damn, seems like it is hard to find a nice lake around there:).

I saw a lot of locals are taking showers in Lake Viktoria or swimming. I met one Frenchman, he was not worried abotu it and worked in waters around there a lot. I suppose that risk of catching Bilharzia is not very big and as I understadn only parts of the lake are infected, if you see snails, I suppose it is a bad omen :).

Also I wonder if you use a boat to move away from the shore, like 30 meters, is it safe then or still not:). But I suppose for an expert it is easier to say, dont rtisk it and thats the end of the matter and safest bet on his part.

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