Injections???

wonderwomanusa

>What is a travel doctor anyway? We don't have them in the US.<

There's at least one travel clinic in San Francisco; all they do is give injections for various travellers' requirements. An outgrowth of a clinic that used to give vaccinations to merchant seamen, it was most convenient when I worked downtown and was getting ready for an earlier visit to India -- I could get there on my lunch hour.

Last year, I got my vaccinations from the local Public Health Department; their prices were reasonable, and there was no crush of people to contend with... so it worked for me!

Kanbe

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I got burnt once by "The travel doctor" they sold me alot of very expensive anti malarials on the grounds that i would not be able to get them in Thailand. which was absolute crap. they were everywhere, and about 1/10th the price!
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Hm..I agree. TMVC (the travel doctor clinics) are overpriced. I wont be going back there again. Its cheaper if you just go to an ordianry medical clinic and pay for the injections.

machadinha

Hmm again, you shouldn't take any random forum member's word for it including my own. Just my comments:

Indeed, and Loon was saying he didn't have the time to get them all I think, so it's better than nothing. Like Merchant said, if you can get the jabs at home before you go though.

I don't have my medical books here and I'm not so sure about the typhoid, I think I got it but may be mistaken with tetanus. Will look up later.

Meningococcal: need to look it up later, but isn't that the same as or related to Japanese encephalitis? The latter seems to get some attention on this forum but I never heard about it when going to India, thought it was more a SE Asian thing (and I didn't get it going to Thailand nor was I adviced to). Would warrant more research, from what I've read it's more of a concern for extended stays in rural wet areas.

Cholera: unless new medicines have been developed there was never a satisfactory vaccine against it and even the WHO stopped advicing taking them long ago I believe.

Hep. A: Generally recommended. Hep B requires blood contact, so unless you expect to be exposed to blood or bodily fluids for some reason (medical work, lots of unprotected sex with different partners) there's little reason to get it. If you plan to travel extensively in the tropics over the coming ten years it might be worth getting it anyway as the vaccine lasts that long. Not so sure about how long the Hep A lasts.

Rabies: Normally only adviced to people who run a considerable risk of getting in close contact with (wild) animals -- vets, field biologists, etc.

The big ommission here seems to be DTP -- diphteria, tetanus, polio -- which should be your main concern really. Most people have gotten a jab as a kid but you should check if you need a booster which is usually the case for (young) adults going to the tropics.

The prices you mention seem exorbitant but maybe that's just the price where you're at, I can only count myself lucky to live somewhere they're cheaper and partly covered by the national health service. Have you checked if your (travel) insurance won't cover them?

In general, maybe a doctor who sees a rowdy youngster going off to the bush for half a year wants to make sure they get back alive, I know it worked that way with my doctor. And medical advice will just differ from doctor to doctor and from climic to clinic, it's still better than what people such as myself have to offer. I'd follow up on what they have to say although a list like the above (and the price!) seems a little exaggerated yes. Places like the USA seem to be notorious for their travel health warnings, the same might be true of the Aussie government (I know they have a bit of a quarantaine hangup for instance).

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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links