Do I need malaria pills or iodine tables for my summer trip to Lisbon?

I went to see a travel nurse at a clinic in my city to get vaccinated before my trip to Lisbon this summer - in June - and she wasn't very helpful. She didn't suggest that I bring Malaria pills with me to Lisbon, which I thought was odd. Shouldn't I? And shouldn't I bring iodine pills for the water, as well?

I was vaccinated against Hep B, and M.M.R. (measles, mumps and rubella). My concern isn't that I"ll catch a disease (other than the common traveler's diarrhea which only lasts a week), but that I"ll get Malaria from a mosquito bite. How likely is Malaria in Portugal?

I live in Minnesota, and the summers here are full of mosquitoes, so I just use OFF repellent. But am I even allowed to pack insect repellent (not in my carry on) and bring it with me?

I guess I"m a little freaked out by what to expect in Lisbon this summer; as the last place I traveled to was southern China, 15 years ago. I caught traveler's diarrhea there, but it didn't last long, and got eaten alive by mosquitoes there despite wearing insect repellent, but survived to post about it here.

Is the seafood safe to eat in Lisbon? The fruit? Should I avoid ice cubes and salads in restaurants? I want to have a fun vacation but am a little nervous. It would help to hear from people who live there or who have traveled there. Thanks.

are you talking about Lisbon, Portugal? Come on, it is one of the most travelled european capitals! Why do you even think you'll be catching malaria in Portugal? According to google, there haven't been new cases of malaria since 1959, that doesn't sound worrying.. Leave all of your fears at home and go, don't worry for malaria, seafood, terrorist attacks, aliens etc...

How likely is Malaria in Portugal?

There's no malaria in Lisbon.

And shouldn't I bring iodine pills for the water, as well?

No.

Is the seafood safe to eat in Lisbon? The fruit?

Yes.

Should I avoid ice cubes and salads in restaurants?

No.

http://www.lisbon-tourist-guide.com/lisbon-water.html
http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/europe--russia/portugal.aspx#MalariaContentHeading

Sadly, MIN_USA, your post falls into the "is this person serious?" category.

If you are serious, then you are worrying far far too much, worrying to the point that it is almost maladaptive.

I wonder whether, in the long run, people telling you there isn't malaria in Portugal, that it's OK to drink tap water, safe to eat seafood, fruit, etc. is really going to help you.

Why on earth would you need anti-malarials or water treatment tablets? Lisbon isn't some backwater

You do know that Portugal is not located in Africa, do you?

There is no malaria risk in Portugal, you can safely eat seafood, fruits, ice cubes and salads. And yes, you can bring your own mosquito repellent to Europe, but put in your hold luggage as liquids, gels and pastes are not allowed in your carry-on baggage. If you're repellent doesn't work, consider buying a local one as it may be more effective (just go to a pharmacy or drug store).

In general, Europe is a very safe place to travel to and in many ways comparable to the U.S. Please do travel outside the U.S. more often because you indeed sound freaked out. (Just imagine me asking: "I went to see a travel nurse at a clinic in my city to get vaccinated before my trip to Minnesota. She didn't suggest that I bring malaria pills with me, which I though was odd. And shouldn't I bring iodine pills for the water?" You would probably die laughing.)

That said, you can never totally avoid getting sick on holidays. Even if you drink plenty of water (Portugal is hot in summer) and stay away from food that doesn't look fresh (as you would do at home, I presume) your stomach might need a day or two to get used to the local cuisine. Or you break your ankle because you didn't pay attention on the stairs...

Hello MN_USA,

She didn't suggest that I bring Malaria p.lls with me to Lisbon, which I thought was odd. Shouldn't I? And shouldn't I bring iodine pills for the water, as well?

Don't worry and thank this 'unhelpful' nurse.
I think it's odd in your view to not recommend or give these p.lls because the American way of life (approaching health) requires as much pills (medicine etc.) as there are available (not: as there are necessarily required)
.
I know: a generalisation.

There's something wrong with you in that approach if you don't take/use them. Intimidating advertising and loads of (semi-) medical stuff at the entrance of the shopping-centres (WalMart is champion IMO) makes that many Americans etc. etc.

Do I have to bring repellent when I cross Montana in due time? Yes/No, I don't worry. Can always buy it there. Though the middle of nowhere, it's a developed state, I assume, (almost) equal as Portugal.

This is my point of view, no offense, it's better to say things straight. I forgot the proverb but it's equivalent to 'soft healers make stinking wounds'

Anyway have a nice trip to a nice, hospitable country.

NB. Do you fly from Bozeman?
(first try didn't pass censorship, so camouflage of a possibly infected word)

I think this person is serious. For the Americans, being intimidated by health (not healthy) commercials and stumbing on the medical department first when entering WalMart, it's really a culture shock to find out that things here are quite modern.

There's something wrong with you if you don't use medicine, is a generally accepted attitude.

But MN_USA, if you need repellent, just buy it in Portugal.

NB. Do you fly from Bozeman?

Wish you a good trip.
Beware of pickpockets (that's my amemory to Lisbon). But also for that, I have to blame myself (partly)

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?newPost=true&messageID=20717177&#20717177
postings #10 and 11

first try didn't pass censorship, so camouflage of a possibly infected word

I think this entire thread was flagged for moderation. I don't know how this could be done -- if by moderator, then why do they also permit stupid SPAM?

I have had this blocking experience with some other potential 'hot' topics. For most threads my post gets through immediately. On this thread I posted when it was empty, half an hour later 5 replies popped up and I was #5.

arizona..like you,my reply was censored.

Don't know which word though...there were several possibilities ;-)

I'm not a troll, just a nervous traveler.

I do agree that America is a pill-reliant culture that can create maladaptive behavior. I only about the iodine because when I went to China, I brought iodine pills. So I just assumed it would be a good idea in Portugal as well.

I did read on the CDC website that cases of Dengue Fever has been reported in Madeira, Portugal. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/outbreak-notice/dengue-madeira-portugal.htm

I'm not going to Madeira however; just Lisbon and Porto.
I wasn't even this nervous when I flew to China - and I lived there for a year while I taught English to Chinese students.

I know that Portugal isn't some back water place and that it's very touristy. I also don't travel very frequently (even in the U.S.), so that's another reason for my over-reacting post I guess.

I'm sure I will calm down once I'm in Lisbon. I appreciate everyone responding to my post.

Assuming this is real:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/portugal.htm (Note that dengue is not malaria. The only prevention for dengue is bite avoidance. Also note that Madeira is not part of mainland Portugal. It is an island, roughly 600 miles away from Lisbon.)
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1002.html

Are you mistaking Lisbon with Luanda, another Portuguese speaking capital?

MN_USA, thanks for clarifying, my posts are a bit a mess due to not appearing (researching by the behaviour-police?) and trying to find out were I 'sinned'.

The CDC is IMO sometimes too careful (almost said paranoid) in warning people. Waiting for their item since two kids in Sweden were found with the E-HEC bactterium.
Plus many Americans asking here if it's safe to travel.

Perception.

I'm glad they do to find out and getting some mutual understanding.

me info from expats in Lisbon: http://expatinlisbon.com/

MN - go to your local library - you will see (as everyone has told you) that Portugal is on the West Coast of Europe. Even 40 years ago it was one of the safest, cleanest and friendliest countries I visited.

China is a totally different situation - you have more chance of getting sick in NY than in Lisbon and a far better chance of getting better health care in Lisbon if you do get really sick. Do 5 hours of meditation - leave all your fears in the bathroom and go off to enjoy a great small friendly country.

How did MN manage to make 2 posts on this thread and have 0 posts in total?

Thanks orion_mike for the encouragement in your post. You are the only poster in my thread who was nice to me, so thank you. Seems like all the other posters here think I'm a troll (which I'm not). I will definitely head to my local library and read up on Portugal to ease my anxiety about traveling there. I made the mistake of reading threads about food poisoning in Portugal. I don't know why I wasn't nervous traveling to China, but am nervous traveling to Portugal. Maybe some meditation (yes, I'm serious) will help me figure it out.

Hi MN_USA, as I was one of the posters who did not wrote a very nice post, allow me to apologize.

I think many people found your questions so weird that they actually considered them not to be real. In Europe, we tend to think we are pretty civilized. We would consider ourselves as equal to, but in many cases even better than the U.S. And I guess that any question which goes largely beyond that view, is considered to be a potential troll as we can't believe anyone could be serious on that.

I must admit though that I'm still a bit shocked that anyone could ever think that malaria exists in Western-Europe or that Portugal holds the same hygiene standard as China.

To conclude postively: Have a great trip to Portugal and don't worry too much. As orion_mike says, Portugal is very safe country and in case you do get sick, the health care is of a high standard. And don't make your self crazy by reading horror stories. There's loads of people visiting Portugal each year and somehow they all manage to survive without much trouble ;-)

Seems like all the other posters here think I'm a troll (which I'm not)
Sorry, did you read the other posts well? Speaking for myself, I think I was pretty straight but respectful. Didn't I show understanding for that cultural gap?

But indeed, orion_mike told a valuble story.

Anyway, thanks for your feedback, maybe I see you in Montana this summer! Sure taking off my buffalo gloves and shae hands!

Cheers, A.

ZuidWest, I appreciate your apology but I still don't think I deserved such un-necessary judgement from you or the others who attacked me here. Are you Portuguese by the way? I would find it highly ironic if you or the other posters were Portuguese.

As far as your comment that Portugal has better hygiene standards than China, well, that's your subjective opinion. I could easily say that Minnesota has better hygiene standards than New York or Lose Angeles. That's just an opinion. I stayed in hostels and hotels in both England and Ireland when I a little kid, with my family, where the hygiene standards were very sub par.

I don't know why you would be shocked at me for thinking that Malaria exists in Western Europe, when it clearly does. Just read the news. There have been recent Malaria outbreaks in Greece and even in Portugal; as recent as 2012.

There was a scientific study in 2012 by the Institute of Marine Research that studied some wetlands reed beds in Portugal, after 58 cases of Malaria were reported by Portugal's own National Health Service. There's a quote in the article from Nuno Lacasta who warned that rising temperatures in Portugal will increase the risk for more Malaria cases to occur. I found this information online, and I'm not Portuguese.

I am in my 40s and want to be sure I know what to expect when I travel to Portugal. I do plan to have fun and enjoy the Portuguese food and culture, but I don't appreciate being bullied by anonymous posters on a travel forum for the questions I ask. It's immature behavior on those posters part for making assumptions, and treating those assumptions as facts to base their nasty comments on. Malaria could pop up anywhere there is a warm climate and large body of water. Hawaii has Malaria cases all the time and they are a very civilized island that is overrun by tourists all year round.

I don't appreciate being bullied by anonymous posters on a travel forum for the questions I ask. It's immature behavior on those posters part for making assumptions

Here's how it works. People here are judging the quality of the question . Do you understand that? I don't see anybody doing any bullying. All I see are people expressing disbelief at the question. Why? Because people do have certain standards and expectations regarding what a reasonable question, coming from an adult, ought to be.

Now in post #20 you are making an effort to justify why your question was "reasonable", and at the same time commenting that everyone else is immature.

What can I say? Other people have different standards of what is reasonable.

Post #2 already gave you all the answers you required. I suspected that it wouldn't do much good, because in post #17 you ignore all of the correct answers etc. only to thank "encouragement".

I shall stick with my own conclusion. You are worrying too much, that is your difficulty. It is something for you to think about.

BthDth: well you were one of the posters who attacked me, or should I say, "flamed me," for what you deemed a stupid question. If you are not Portuguese, have never traveled there, have never lived in a country or city/state that has had outbreaks of Malaria, then you have no right to judge the quality of my question as you put it. But you have judged the quality of my question as being poor quality. That's just your opinion. I think your opinion is unreasonable as my question is a perfectly valid and reasonable one that not everyone is going to agree with. After all you are entitled to your opinion, just as I'm entitled to mine. And my opinion is that you are being un-necessarily judgmental as I just came here looking for advice, not expecting to be flamed or verbally criticized or scoffed at for asking my question. That's what I find immature in your post and the others.

ZuidWest, I appreciate your apology but I still don't think I deserved such un-necessary judgement from you or the others who attacked me here. Are you Portuguese by the way? I would find it highly ironic if you or the other posters were Portuguese
ZuidWest is most likely from the same country as undersigned, you know, that little country near Denmark where everybody smokes legal weed and visits prostitutes legally. According to some news sources, that is.
With all due respect, I too thought you were either a troll or an extremely gullible newbie traveller. Sorry, but asking if you need malaria pills in Europe is about the same as asking if you need to bring a bullet-proof vest to the US.

I don't know why you would be shocked at me for thinking that Malaria exists in Western Europe, when it clearly does
Could you please provide a link to that news? I've spent most of the past 3,5 decades in Europe, follow the news quite regularly and never heard about a malaria outbreak here - given that the countries you mention are all popular holiday destinations for people from my country, it would certainly have been all over the news if such a thing would happen. Sure, there may have been one or two isolated cases of malaria, but that doesn't mean any short-term visitor to Lisbon (not really a wetland) would have to stock up on malaria pills.

I am in my 40s and want to be sure I know what to expect when I travel to Portugal
Then why don't you listen when people tell you not to worry?

Like BthDth says...#2 is spot on.

That was enough of an answer...the rest was just disbelief/amusement.

If I asked a question on the US branch about the dangers of malaria in Minnesota, I doubt the type of replies would be much different....

Here is the link to that news report from a newspaper in Portugal about the 58 cases of Malaria in 2012:

http://theportugalnews.com/news/malaria-risk-increases-in-portugal/26356

I'd like a moderator to step in here. I'm still getting flamed by posters in this thread, and I don't deserve to be treated that way at all.

and I don't deserve to be treated that way at all.

you're not being flamed. You've been told that your question is naive, borderline ridiculous. You've also been given a straightforward answer, and now you're trying to argue that your question is reasonable.

Did you even read the link you provided?
it says:
> said this week there were 58 imported+ cases of Malaria in Portugal last year. Although no new cases have been contracted +in the country since 1959

Imported. get it? these are people returning from vacation with malaria and no case have been contracted in the country for 50 years.

you're far more likely to get West Nile virus in Minnesota than Malaria in Portugal.

Get over it.

Suggest not to go to Portugal if you thik it is too dangerous. Try one of the Polar regions, thats sure without microbs or bacteries and contagious sickness - and water is clean too.

Ha aribo, in that country of yours there's also a wild-west area I learnt from Fox-News icon Bill O'Reilly. You are living in that part?

BTW. Welcome back on the board, I saw some rare samples of your wisom the past few weeks.

When I translate Amsterdam in Dutch, is also Amsterdam. A bit irony maybe MN_USA (apologize, no offense!!!) but I tried to translate Bozeman (an airport in the USA) and Google told me: angry man.
Is that true?

I think we all take some valium now.
Peace!

Apparently there's some moderation, kope my (on behalf of) Ban KY Moon (sp?) will cross the borderline.

I'd like a moderator to step in here
Not sure if it's only me, but before I posted I received a notification that my message first had to be approved by a moderator. So apparently the mods are already monitoring this thread and, so far, do not see any violation of the community guidelines.

I'm still getting flamed by posters in this thread, and I don't deserve to be treated that way at all
Look at it this way: in the past 2 weeks, I have seen at least 3 news reports on Dutch tv about random shootings in the US. Now assume I would create a handle on an internet forum to anonymously ask Americans if I would need to bring a bullet proof vest on my next trip to Salt Lake City, how would you respond?

You are talking about Portugal as if it's some third-world country with hygienic standards on par with, say, the Congo. If I were Portuguese, I would almost be tempted to call in the moderators myself to have your post deleted for unnecessary insulting my country.

I'd like a moderator to step in here

According to a statement from the National Health Service, "the last cases of Malaria contracted in Portugal were diagnosed in 1959"
http://theportugalnews.com/news/malaria-risk-increases-in-portugal/26356

Seeing how you have answered your question...

thread closed...