Gegen Gelbfieber geimpft, aber nicht gegen Masern?
Gelbfieber, Malaria oder Hepatitis A: Die Planung einer Fernreise ist oft der Anlass, sich über tropische Infektionsgefahren zu informieren und durch Reiseimpfungen vorzusorgen. Die in Deutschland empfohlenen Standardimpfungen geraten häufig erst dann wieder ins Bewusstsein. Das CRM Centrum für Reisemedizin rät anlässlich der Europäischen Impfwoche (EIW) der World Health Organisation (WHO) dazu, den Standardimpfschutz zu überprüfen und spätestens im Rahmen einer reisemedizinischen Beratung aufzufrischen.
„Impfungen sind ein wirksames Mittel der Prävention gegen viele Krankheiten“, so Prof. Tomas Jelinek, Wissenschaftlicher Leiter des CRM Centrum für Reisemedizin. „Da viele Menschen aber nicht vollständig geimpft sind oder Impfungen nicht aufgefrischt werden, können sich Erkrankungen, die durch Impfungen vermeidbar wären, wieder zunehmend ausbreiten“, warnt er. „Immer wieder kommt es in den letzten Jahren in Europa zu einem Masernausbruch, mit hohen Fallzahlen auch in Deutschland. So wurden im vergangenen Jahr bundesweit 926 Erkrankungen gemeldet, 2016 waren es insgesamt 323. In diesem Jahre wurden innerhalb der ersten zwölf Wochen bereits 92 Infektionen registriert.
„Dies zeigt beispielhaft, dass die Impfraten bei den Standardimpfungen lückenhaft sind“, so der Experte. Nach Informationen des Robert-Koch-Instituts sind die Impfquoten in den letzten Jahren zwar kontinuierlich gestiegen, beziehungsweise konstant hoch geblieben. Erstmals erreichen alle Bundesländer eine Impfquote von mindestens 95 Prozent für die erste Impfung gegen Masern, Mumps und Röteln bei der Schuleingangsuntersuchung. Dennoch besteht weiterhin Verbesserungsbedarf hinsichtlich der erforderlichen zweiten Impfung.
„Nicht alle Ungeimpften sind Impfgegner“, berichtet Prof. Jelinek aus seiner Erfahrung der reisemedizinischen Beratung. Vor Fernreisen setzten sich viele Reisende mit den gesundheitlichen Risiken im Ausland auseinander, die sich durch tropische Infektionserreger oder aus den oft niedrigen hygienischen Standards ergeben. Auch das Thema Impfen gerät in den Blick, denn Impfungen, wie etwa gegen Gelbfieber, sind für viele Länder verpflichtend vorgeschrieben. „Über ihren Impfstatus hinsichtlich der Standardimpfungen haben sich viele bis dahin keine Gedanken gemacht oder wussten einfach nicht, dass die Impfungen aufgefrischt werden müssen“, sagt Jelinek. „Wir empfehlen daher, den Status der für Deutschland empfohlenen Standardimpfungen beim Hausarzt überprüfen zu lassen. Man erfährt dann, welche der Impfungen nachgeholt oder aufgefrischt werden sollten.“ Aber auch die reisemedizinische Beratung sei hierfür eine gute Gelegenheit. Ärzte sollten im Rahmen einer reisemedizinischen Beratung immer auch auf die Bedeutung der Standardimpfungen aufmerksam machen. „Durch die Standardimpfungen, die von der Ständigen Impfkommission (STIKO) empfohlen werden, sind nicht nur die Geimpften geschützt, sondern auch die, die aufgrund ihres jungen Alters oder wegen bestimmter Grunderkrankungen nicht geimpft werden können. Wir begrüßen und unterstützen daher Initiativen wie die Europäische Impfwoche, die Erwachsene, Eltern und Menschen in Gesundheitsberufen für die Bedeutung hoher Durchimpfungsraten sensibilisiert“, betont Professor Jelinek.
What a pity to be in Seville (Spain) and experiencing heavy rains! The tour-guide said that they now do have enough water for the next upcoming three years – and it’s still raining.
Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares de Sevilla
Fuente de los Leones
Fuente de las Ranas
Plaza de España
Plaza de España
The bad weather happened to us on the second day of our stay. But on arrival Seville welcomed us with sunshine and temperatures around 17 °C. Before we got to the hotel our tour-guide offered us the opportunity to see the Parque de Maria Luisa with the Plaza America and the Plaza de España. Both places are worth a visit and show breathtaking architecture. The air was filled with with the scent of orange blossoms. A British lady would say: lovely! And that explains exactly how it was. After this short break we rushed to the hotel.
We stayed at the Hotel Ribera de Triana in room #220 with a nice view of the town and the Canal de Alfonso XIII which carries the channeled Guadalquivir River (filled up to a level that hasn’t been for a long time). A first stroll along the river banks lead me to the bridge Puente de Isabel II, a steel-work structure from the 19th century. The quarter that surrounded this area was very urban and with a lot of restaurants and nice tapas bars. For the first evening, however, a dinner for all of us was scheduled at the hotel’s restaurant and immediately afterwards, a flamenco dance performance announced for 21:00 hours. Therefore we first had to return to the hotel and postpone the solo excursion into the culinary delights of Andalusian cuisine until the evening after.
Flamenco at the El Patio Sevillano
The flamenco dance performance took place at El Patio Sevillano and had to be paid separately (38€/pp). The performance lasted two hours, was worth the money and exactly what I had in mind when booking it. A good investment to the expenses of the trip. After the show the bus was waiting to bring us back to the hotel. A nice service of our driver.
The following morning we had to get up early because a visit to the Real Alcázar was scheduled for 10:00 o’clock already and a city guide was awaiting us. Therefore the night was over at 7:00 hours just to make it in time. The Alcázar of Seville (or Royal Alcázar) is a representative monumental compound and shows within its walls and gardens, amalgamating influences starting from the Arabic period, late Middle Ages Mudéjar right through to the Renaissance, Baroque and the XIX century. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Catedral de Sevilla and the Real Alcázar are dating from the Reconquest of 1248 to the 16th century and imbued with Moorish influences – they are a testimony to the civilization of the Almohads as well as that of Christian Andalusia. The Giralda minaret is of Almohad architecture and it stands next to the cathedral which is the largest Gothic building in Europe and houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
The Real Acázar
Reception hall in the Royal Acázar
Moor’s ornaments and tiles Real Acázar
Moor’s ornaments and wooden ceiling in Real Acázar
The gardens in the Real Alcázar
Not far from the Real Alcázar is the Hospital de la Caridad. Originally the brotherhood was devoted to giving a Christian burial to the mortal remains of the sentenced to death and those who died drowned in the Guadalquivir River. Later on the Venerable Miguel Mañara transformed the brotherhood into an institution meant help and care for the ones in need by providing food and home for them, thus equipping the place with a hospice for patients at a terminal stage. The treasures of the Holy Charity’s Chapel, which is part of the hospital, are paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Juan de Valdés Leal and Pedro Roldán. Our tour-guide gave a brief explaination of the paintings and the altar. Who likes to read more in detail of the paintings, please feel free go to the links implemented into the text above.
Holy Charity’s Chapel
In Ictu Oculi – Juan de Valdés Leal
Finis Gloriae Mundi – Juan de Valdés Leal
After the visit our guided tour terminated. The next tour was scheduled for the upcoming day at 8:45 o’clock. Quite early but caused by a taxi driver strike starting at 10:00 o’clock and the break day for the bus driver. On our way back to the hotel we had a couple of tapas at a local restaurant: Nice but nothing special or worth to mention. You’ll find easily bars and restaurants in Spain which are quite acceptable and with reasonable pricing, too.
From Casa de Pilatos we went through the rain to the Seville Cathedral. Hundreds of visitor were cuing up for tickets – in the rain. Luckily our tour guide did manage that we hadn’t to wait to get in. We could detour the lines and went straight in. Keep in mind: You have to pre-order tickets – and that is a recommendation for all sight-seeing suites in Spain.
An astonishing monument is the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, that again showed the wealth of the catholic church. Solely the big altar that measured 30 m by 18 m in total carried more than 340 kg of gold. And there are so many exciting paintings, wood carving pieces around the organ pipes and the organ itself. But before I do start writing to much about it I recommend that you follow the link that I implemented and read about it there. It is worth it: The reading and a visit!
Altar in the Seville cathedral
Organ in the Seville cathedral with wood carvings
Murillo painting with a size of 6 m by 4 m
Nave of the Seville cathedral with the altar in the back
View from the Giralda
View of Seville from the Giralda
One of the aisles
Grave of Christopher Columbus
Seville Cathedral with Giralda
View from the Meridol Parasol towards the Seville Cathedral
Model of the Meridol Parasol
Part of the Meridol Parasol
Christopher Columbus‘s grave is in the church yard of the cathedral and four bronze statues with alabaster faces are carrying his coffin.
We finished our guided tour with a dinner at a restaurant on Calla Zaragoza which is a training place and school for hotel and restaurant personell. Finally the rain stopped and we could walk to the restaurant without getting wet again. The restaurant building showed a lot of art nouveau design and accessories which was nice. The food was very Spanish, which means oily, and the waiters friendly. When you are visiting this country be prepared that most of the dishes are prepared with a lot of oil and grease.
Our last night in Seville we spent at a nice restaurant in Triana, close to our hotel.
View of Córdoba, Spain with the Mezquita-Catedral and the Guadalquivir river
While I stayed at the NH hotel Guadalquivir in Córdoba, I did get a room facing the courtyard, again. But it was easy to upgrade for 12€/day to a room on the third floor (#310) with view towards the Guadalquivir river, the town and the Mezquita-Catedral De Córdoba. Although this is a 4* hotel, the rooms are tiny and the air-conditioning wasn’t working. The receptionist told me that this is because of the time of the year: Spring – only the heating was in function. Therefore I had to open the window to get some cool and fresh air. The view from room #310 was spectacular and I did use the daylight to shoot some pictures of the cathedral and the bridge. When I got back from dinner at the
The bell tower
The ritual purification area prior to Muslim prayer
The visit of the cathedral starts in the former Caliphate courtyard of ablutions, the Patio de los Naranjos which was later the Christian courtyard. Here is the bell tower located which was formerly the minaret. The ablution is a ritual purification prior to a Muslim prayer that included the washing of themselves.
Original mosque of Abd al-Rahman III (10th century)
Expansion of Abd al-Rahman II
From the courtyard you enter the original mosque of Abd al-Rahman III and the Expansion area of Al-Hakam II both from the 10th century. It was very impressive to see the results of conversion from a mosque to a catholic church. Because of the demographic development and the rise of residents the expansion resulted in the growing of the prayer hall by eight new naves to the south.
Unfortunately I couldn’t use lighting or the camera flashlight to brighten up the different areas of the church and neither I was allowed to use my tripod. To take perfect pictures has therefore been almost impossible. But when you do follow the links provided above, you will get some astonishing images of the cathedral.
Mirhab
Mirhab
A lot of historical information was provided by the tour-guide who explained all clerical and political changes to the church and led us through all sections of the whole area. The next stop on our tour was at the Mihrab which is a focal point for the contribution made by Al-Hakam II to the Aljama. We finished our tour by visiting the main chapel of the catholic cathedral. The complexity of this monumental space provides a beautiful dialogue between Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerism art and creates a perfect combination with the Caliphate legacy.
Altar
stuccoed ceiling
organ
We continued our tour by walking through the old Jewish quarter of Córdoba while experiencing heavy rain. We had dinner at the Casa Palacio Bandolero, a restaurant that offered delicious Spanish dishes and local red/white wines as well as Alhambra beer on draft.
Outside the Mezquita-Catedral with heavy rainfall in April
After dinner the rain was so heavy that I decided to return to my hotel that was located across the river Guadalquivir. Quite exhausted I laid down on my bed and felt asleep immediately.
