Should I delay trip for rabies, hep. b and japonese encephalitis shots?

Dave77

I went to get my shots today (typhoid, tetanus, measels & hep a) and learned that I won't have time to get immunized for rabies, hep. B and Jap. encephalitis before feb. 28, which is when I want to leave. Are the risks serious enough to merit delaying my trip until march 17(wasting valuable pre monsoon time in the south)? Is it worth the trouble try and get these done in India?
I have no way to guage the threat of these diseases. The people at the tropical disease center were a little alarmist. Let me know what you think I oughta do. I'll be in country for 6 months by the way.

(they gave me doxycycline, by the way; just to inflame the maleria debate)

Thanks.

sticky

you'll kick your self for buying doxycycline at home. I paid just over 10 times as much for it in australia compared to thailand, and im reliably informed that its the same for india.

You can check out health advisories at the world health organisation web site.

www.who.org

Up until this year, no one who had ever contracted rabies had ever survived it. and im told that it is a particularly nasty way to go. The person who did survive only did so because they were admited to a hospital in america where she underwent a trial procedure, cosisting of massive doses of multiple drugs while she was kept in a coma for months on end.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4042005.stm

but then again you have to be bitten first

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lotus blossom

vaccines are so dangerous and damaging to the immune system that i would avoid them at any and all costs. this has been discussed on this site before, so if you do a search you can find some good info.

their is only one way to be properly "immunized" - eat a wholesome diet, abstain from poisons (sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, medications, drugs) and live free from toxic fear of becoming a victim of a ravishing disease. it's worked for me for 20+ years.

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sticky

Yeah, perhaps..... but then again, no one who has ever contracted rabies has ever survived it..... you would have to think there would be some people who were on strict wholesome diets in that number, which once again is 100% of all people infected.

And it kills animals equally effectively…. 100% effectively. And last time I checked, most animals don't consume at all.

I'm not going to vouch for all vaccines, but the rabies vaccine is made from inactivated - dead - viri. It works by training your bodies own natural defence systems, something that happens naturally with rabies (and most viral infections) anyway.
The problem is that the live virus kills you long before your body catches up.

Dave77

I'm not sure how fast rabies manifests itself, but I was under the immpression that if one reacted quickly after being bitten by an animal, ie: wash/disinfect the wound and seek medical attention within 48 hours, outright infection would be avoided. Naturally if I was without a rabies vaccine (as it appears I will be) and was bitten by an animal, I would seek immediate attention. In that case, I'm assuming (hoping?) that I would be ok without a vaccination.

I guess i better talk to my doctor.

seventies'hippy

I don't know exactly where yopu're plannibg on going Dave77, but unless you're really going way of the beaten tracks I wouldn't concern myself unduly about not having these shots.
The threat of rabies in the moderner parts of India shouldn't cause you concern at all.

machadinha

It depends per your country of origin or even the city where you get your shots I'm sure, but a rabies vaccination is normally only advised for vets, field biologists and animal caretakers and the likes or people who are otherwise likely to get into close contact with (semi-) feral animals. Unless you fall into that category or plan to go completely native I wouldn't bother with it. My '92 medical guide tells me there were no known cases among tourists anywhere in the world over the previous ten years. On the other hand it tells me there's no known cure indeed, however the incubation period is long and you can get an effective vaccin provided the disease hasn't manifested itself yet, i.e. immediately after being bitten. The shots are expensive, work for two years, and if you get bitten you're still required to get extra shots (more advanced medicines may or may not be available by now). nb It's said even being licked by an animal requires thorough cleaning and/or a visit to the doctor, also that cave explorers should beware of bat bites for instance. I don't know, if I'd have run to the doctor every time I stroked a cow or a dog over there I would have been very busy (actually taking care with touching pets makes good sense for general hygiene of course).

Hepatitis B again is normally advised only if you're a doctor or expect to be living under primitive rural circumstances (or to engage in a lot of sex with varying partners for instance, it requires blood contact). You can start the series of shots at home and finish it in any reputable hospital in India, or get the whole series done there. It may not "kick in" meaning you have to do the whole series again (an afterwards check is required to see if antibodies have formed).

I don't know about Japanese encephalitis in India, hopefully someone else can fill it in. What I read is that it's limited to SE and "tropical" Asia wherever that may be, is mosquito-borne, and is again mostly a matter of concern for extended stays in rainy rural areas. (In fact the mosquito is said to be a night creature and the risk is said to be highest in wet rural areas near pigs or rice paddies, because pigs and certain wild birds who inhabit the latter are thought to carry the virus.)

Hope this is of some help. With medical matters any doctor or forum dweller will have their own opinion of course

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vistet

...but I imagine your parents got polio shots.

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dzibead

And small pox, too, I would venture to guess. There's a reason why the practice of immunization is prevalent in the modern world (apart from the mere fact that it's now medically possible): it works.

dzibead

hm-m-m, now that sounds like the kind of disease I might not mind falling victim to ...

lotus blossom

some good pages to get you started on the dangers of vaccines:

http://educate-yourself.org/vcd/

http://www.mercola.com/2002/dec/30/s..._revisited.htm

http://www.all-creatures.org/cb/a-vaccines.html

http://www.vaclib.org/basic/evidence.htm

Sharonov

Lotus Blossom, lots of kids in Africa who now have polio may not agree with you.

edwardseco

I'm not one of the anti vaccine fanatics. However, the ones the OP cited are of lesser value, IMHO, and would not delay any reasonable trip unless you are into rural stay or likely to shoot up a lot. I haven't taken either although if you had more time Hep B might be okay..

lotus blossom

nor am i an "anti-vaccine fanatic", but a well researched doctor of nutrition who has studied the deletrious effects of toxins, such as vaccines, on health for many years.

the children in africa are dying of malnutrition. a diagnosis of "AIDS" in africa is not from an actual test, but from symptoms that a person has, the same symtoms that can be from a host of other diseases.

admittedly, it is a very controversial topic, but one that has been well researched by reputable scientists, including Dr. Peter Duesberg. With an open mind I urge truth seekers to read the literature out there, of which there is a lot of. If we only believe what the media tells us we are deluding ourselves about a great many subjects.

http://www.duesberg.com/index.html

Sharonov

Lotus, I have heard the arguments against vaccination and agree that it's certainly very controversial. However I also know that whole families of children used to die of diphtheria during epidemics, and also have met adult survivors of polio with horribly twisted bodies or paralysis. When I was a child we all had to take "polio naps" and mothers were terrified to have their children go to public swimming pools. Go back another century or two and we have the smallpox epidemics. These diseases have been almost eradicated by vaccination.