Vaccination

Nick-H

People often leave out rabies unless they are really going to be mixing close with monkeys or dogs (or... anything else?).

I hate to say "I've never been bitten by a dog" --- because it could happen tomorrow! But, we don't have monkeys here and so far, in nearly three years, I've had only three encounters with dogs that have even verged on just mildly aggressive, and only one that snapped at me. I could have avoided that if I'd kept my eyes open, too.

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machadinha

Yes, however now we are veering off into giving practical medical advice, which I tell myself never to do... So, er, don't listen to the following, and it's all just my slant, and all the usual disclaimers, and don't take my word for it, and my country's stipulations may not be the same as yours, etc.:

But, yes, rabies seems to be more commonly prescribed now, or at least in some countries, however I was made to understand it's mostly useful for people who stand a chance of getting in close contact with animals. I.e., vets, or maybe if you plan to do rural farming. Spelunkers are another such category (bats). As far as I know, should you get bitten you'll need further treatment anyway, however it does buy you some time.

Hepatitis B, like HIV, is transmitted by bodily fluids, so is normally prescribed if there is a chance of blood contact, including sexual contact (or intravenous drug use; tattooing can be another such risk). I was prescribed it by a kind nurse who apparently was intent on seeing this wild young man through his 6-month trip into nowhere It's a whole series though and won't necessarily catch on (you need to test for anti-bodies later), mine never did in the end. Bit of an expensive joke, but I don't regret trying. If it does catch on, you're safeguarded for something like ten years, so if you intend to do more tropical travel in the future, it can certainly be worth it.

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Laanisa

Its a difficult one...thanks for the replies. I am pretty sure i will skip the rabies shots and am not sure about hepatitis B, i wonder how big risk there really is? I don't think they recommend it as something you have to take when travelling in India or am i wrong?

Thanks again!

machadinha

All I know is it's pretty much like I said (Hep B). Those are pretty much the pros and cons, you have to weigh them yourself.

When I went (also elsewhere in Asia) it wasn't strongly recommended no. You need to be aware that in case of accidents, blood transfusion etc. (a traffic accident in India is far from unthinkable), it will give you an edge. You may want to let it depend on length of stay, mode of travel, level of off-the-beaten-track-ness, personal tendency to risky behavior, possible further planned trips in the future -- that kind of stuff.

And do ask that clinic you visited about it, they may help you make up your mind. I'm no doctor, just some guy on a keyboard.

ps Just a general note that with the possibly "risky behavior" in question, you may as well catch it at home, btw. It rears its head in some quarters in the West from time to time, or so I believe.

machadinha

pps On that catching on business (Hep B), I believe if I had just persisted it should have at some point. You just need repeated courses until you have formed the antibodies (something like two or three should suffice, but it didn't with me).

It was just becoming a very expensive joke and I had my mind on other things and didn't look to be going anywhere soon for a bit, so I dropped it.

I'm still convinced if you're planning a lot of tropical travel over say the next 1 or 2 decades, it can really be worth it. But... over to you. Again, I'm not a doctor.

Brisso

My Australian GP recommends only - Hepatitis A and B; typhoid and a tetanus booster. For India, his view it that the range of other jabs are not needed.

Don't go to a fancy medical travel clinic - they will try to sell you everything and charge a premium. The GP is fine.

machadinha

Yes, that's interesting. The thing is in other countries it may be your GP not knowing what they're talking about or charging you for unreasonable stuff. Hence this very general advice to look up your local tropical health clinic, or if you see an individual doctor, make sure they are specialized in that field.

But beyond that, it's impossible to say, and from all I read it will vary widely per country or even city.

Have we said already we're no specialists?

Brisso

The GP even wrote the scripts so I could pop out to the pharmacy and buy the vaccines myself for him to administer. With the huge growth in international travel, GPs generally have a good deal of experience.

machadinha

It really depends per place or even doctor, Brisso. There's very little in general to say about it.

Brisso

generally speaking ...

wonderwomanusa

I got Hep B in India years ago ... maybe from a vaccination I had to have, or maybe some other way. Since there's always the chance of some medical emergency, Hep B vaccination is a good thing to have.