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Volunteer Guide - Medical Precautions

Although there are no required vaccinations to visit the Dominican Republic, people often ask us what they need to do to prepare medically to volunteer with Outreach360. There are two general approaches that people, including travel physicians, often use:

  1. "Protect me against anything that might affect me." This is the most conservative approach, and involves the most vaccinations and medicines.  This is usually the approach taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  2. "I don't want to take any powerful medicines unless I absolutely have to."  This approach involves more of a focus on actively preventing the disease during your time in the Dominican Republic. 

The issues encountered in the Dominican Republic are similar and include:

Tetanus
We strongly recommend that your tetanus booster is up to date in volunteering in both countries. 

Malaria
Malaria exists in both the Dominican Republic  where we work. Per the CDC, ways to prevent malaria include the following:

  • Taking a prescription antimalarial drug.
  • Using insect repellent and wearing long pants and sleeves to prevent mosquito bites.
  • Sleeping in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms or using bed nets.
We estimate that 50% of the volunteers who join Outreach360 take malaria medication.   As far as we know, no Outreach360 volunteers have contracted malaria during their time with us.  We encourage people to use mosquito repellent, especially in the early morning and evening hours. We do provide window screens, mosquito nets, or both.

If you decide to take an antimalarial drug for your trip to the Dominican Republic,  Atovaquone/ proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, or mefloquine are equal options for preventing malaria. 

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A can be contracted from contaminated food and water. Because we use all bottled water in food preparation, dishes are washed in chlorinated water, and our own cooks are preparing the meals, we feel the risk for Hepatitis A is relatively small. That said, Hepatitis A can be contracted anywhere, and getting the vaccination is probably a wise idea not just for this trip but for the long term benefits of having the vaccination. 

Typhoid
Typhoid is most often acquired through the consumption of contaminated food or water. Because the meals you are eating have been prepared in Outreach360 kitchens using bottled water, we believe the risk is minimal. We do not know of any case of a volunteer contracting typhoid during their time with us.  Per the CDC website:

  • CDC recommends typhoid vaccine for travelers to areas where there is a recognized increased risk of exposure to S. Typhi.
  • The typhoid vaccines currently available do not offer protection against S. Paratyphi infection.
  • Travelers should be reminded that typhoid immunization is not 100% effective, and typhoid fever could still occur.
  • Two typhoid vaccines are currently available in the United States.
    • Oral live, attenuated vaccine (Vivotif vaccine, manufactured from the Ty21a strain of S.Typhi by Crucell/Berna) (Updated July 27, 2009)
    • Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccine (ViCPS) (Typhim Vi, manufactured by sanofi pasteur) for intramuscular use
  • Both vaccines protect 50%–80% of recipients.

CDC Information
Please review the CDC country specific sites for full and complete information regarding prevention:

Dominican Republic



Dominican Republic Volunteer Information Guide

 

Pre-Trip Education/Training Guide