Vaccinations

worton[pl] · Post by **worton[pl]** » 02 Nov 2004, 11:46

may I ask you Silurus how much cost a trip to Asia. I found a train not very expensive from Poland, through Russia to India however I found also a www page with informations that you have to make some expensive vaccinations or you won't let into territory of India is it true? Or just a little lie? :P
Thanks.

Post by **Silurus** » 02 Nov 2004, 14:01

you have to make some expensive vaccinations or you won't let into territory of India

I didn't vaccinate against anything during my last Indian trip and it worked out fine for me (I like to think that I have a Third World gastrointestinal system).
This works if you want to run the risk of contracting cholera (or a bunch of other diseases)...

worton[pl] · Post by **worton[pl]** » 03 Nov 2004, 23:46

So it's my own risk Lets it explore :) thanks

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 04 Nov 2004, 00:03

Hi!

Cant say much about Asia.
But on our vacation to Kenya i had to get a load of shots...
Typhus (25.-), Hepathitis A (55.-), Polio refreshment (10.-), "Gelbfieber" (50.-) (dunno the english name but its a viral liver desease..Flavi-Virus doesnt seem necessary for Asia) and malaria prophylaxis (recipe 7+54 for Lariam)...all in all it cost me almost 200.- euros...but most of them last 10 years, except Typhus and Malaria of course.
Also Lariam absolutely blew me away in the first 2 weeks. Not funny when you prepare for a vacation.

Post by **Dinyar** » 04 Nov 2004, 00:54

Caol_ila wrote:Typhus (25.-), Hepathitis A (55.-), Polio refreshment (10.-), "Gelbfieber" (50.-) (dunno the english name but its a viral liver desease..Flavi-Virus doesnt seem necessary for Asia) and malaria prophylaxis (recipe 7+54 for Lariam)...all in all it cost me almost 200.- euros...but most of them last 10 years, except Typhus and Malaria of course.
Also Lariam absolutely blew me away in the first 2 weeks. Not funny when you prepare for a vacation.

Gelbfieber = yellow fever ("haung re" in Chinese, which also literally means "yellow fever").

This is pretty much the standard course that a Western doctor would prescribe for a Westerner traveling to Africa. Polio and yellow fever would not be prescribed for travel to Asia. While it is a good idea to take the shots the doctor recommends, for business travel to big cities (at least in Asia), one would be quite safe with or without them. The incidence of many contagious diseases like TB in the poorer sections of big Western cities is comparable to that in many developing countries.

As you point out, Lariam can be a drug with nasty neurological and psychiatric side effects. I was sitting next to a Scottish missionary nurse on a recent flight back from Africa, who told me about a young woman she treated who "went mad" as a result of taking Lariam during her honeymoon in Africa. Vivid nightmares are a more common side effect. There is a a new malaria drug with virtually no side effects called Malarone.

Dinyar

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 04 Nov 2004, 01:05

Yeah we heard about Malarone but the Doc said he thought trying Lariam would tell if its good for us or not...also Nici cant take tablets very well so the once a week option sounded better.

my sideeffects were: dizzyness, tiredness, sleeping problems, "walk on catton wool feeling", allergic skin reactions
On a couple of days i couldnt work or drive a car cauz i was just able to rest on my bed. That was in the first week. It was much better in Kenya but still you noticed a big difference to being your normal self.
Next time ill surely try malarone even if it costs twice as much.

Is there a general TB shot? I thought about that because we met a lot of coughing folks which is really scary in some situations.

Post by **Dinyar** » 04 Nov 2004, 01:30

The "BCG" vaccine for TB has been around for almost a century. It's usually administered to infants, at least in developing countries, but efficacy varies.

Post by **Shane** » 04 Nov 2004, 01:59

Just took a look at my records. Here is what I have for South America. These are just the last few years. Many were series of shots.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Lyme Disease
Rabies (3 shots)
Tetnus-Diptheria
Typhim VI
Menomum (?)
Yellow Fever

I never take any malaria pills. It might make sense for a short vacation, but it can not be good to take any drug for as long as I have lived in the tropics.

-Shane

Post by **Dinyar** » 04 Nov 2004, 03:51

Not that I am a doctor or an authority on this subject, but Hep B is spread by unprotected sex and blood transfusions. Should not be a major concern if you're catching fish

, but of course, can't hurt to have it.

Tetanus-diphtheria is a standard shot for people in developed countries. You need it to get admitted to school in the US. Tetanus can happen anywhere, so it's a good shot for everyone to be current on.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 04 Nov 2004, 16:37

I've been doing Malarone in the jungle and found it a very good drug, no side-effects whatsoever.

of course it's about 7 times as expensive as Larian; because the pills have about the same price; but Larian is 1 pill once a week, whereas Malarone is daily....

I'm prone to depressions and extreme moodswings when completely sober, though; and I'm not going to end up in the loonybin/jail/graveyard because I want to save a few bucks...

Your health is non-refundable! get good medications, believe me.

Shane, you must have a tremendous resistance to malaria; friend of mine worked in Ghana a few months each year (until recently), he took all the shots but skipped the pills as well, because of the same philosophy....it nearly killed him!
went comatose, ended up in the IC with bells on
now no tropics anymore for him, and constant check-ups, because once it's in, it won't leave; or so I've heard.

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 04 Nov 2004, 16:48

Dinyar Wrote,

Not that I am a doctor or an authority on this subject, but Hep B is spread by unprotected sex and blood transfusions.

Dinyar,
Not so...

At peak infectivity (jaundice would often but not always be present) Hep B virus is present in 10^6 power/mL of blood (ONE TINY DROPLET OF BLOOD). One thousandth (1uL or 1000 virus particles) of this introduced into an open wound on the skin (scratch is enough) is enough to infect someone.

Hep B is one of the most infectious of all blood-borne illnesses. P/M me to ask me how I know!

Post by **Shane** » 06 Nov 2004, 15:56

Sid,
Maybe I do have a good natural resistance. I also believe that diet, skin color, detergents and other things are factors. When Jools and I were collecting, he was eaten alive while I sat next to him and did not get a single bite. While collecting the Orituco with my brother he was also eaten, I got a few bites and the llanero with us said, "What zancudos?"
I believe Jools and my brother were eaten because they have light skin, European and American diets, and their clothing, hair and bodies smelled like 1st world detergents.
A healthy diet of arepas and guasacaca keeps the mosquitos away.
Of course my crazy theory did not stop me from getting Dengue (I was down for a month!) and sadly there is no shot for that nasty disease.
-Shane

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 06 Nov 2004, 19:48

LOL!
I recognize a LOT in that, believe me.

unfortunately it can change when you age...
As a kid and student, I had the same thing; sort of 'natural repellant'. I remember walking through a swamp in Southern France (doing research on amphibians) with only cut-off jeans, and all the bugs (including midgets; these are really nasty) attacking my friend who had buttoned up his shirt and buttoned down his sleeves, was wearing shoes, socks etc...

But a few years after that I was in a Portugese ricepaddy and I had so many mosquito's on me, there was actually a second layer of them on me, trying to wriggle through the first layer that was already sucking blood....
I lost about a pint of blood I think, and I had so many stings, that I couldn't see properly (my eyes were swollen shut), for example, I had 83 bites on one arm, and it was like that all over. I was really sick with bug-poison for a few days.

On the other hand, after that I found the Amazonian forest a piece of cake; there were bugs, but not nearly as many. I took my pills, but had Dengue as well; luckily it only lasted a week or so. nasty stuff, but I prefer Dengue to mosquitoworms; I evaded that horror, thank god!

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 07 Nov 2004, 05:06

of course it's about 7 times as expensive as Larian;

Actually we were told by the tropical doc that the price is twice as much...you need to buy tablets for 110.- euros (mala) and Lariam cost us 54.-...
Actually i had no depression, just couldnt walk straight anymore..

Like being on 3 Guinnes constantly.
But this whole summary shows why we have no business in the tropics.

Btw we tried out NoBite mosquito repellent and it worked great. I had 1 bite in two weeks kenya. http://www.nobite.com dunno if this works when you have high humidity.

Post by **Birger** » 07 Nov 2004, 17:24

I am preparing for a trip to Africa and find this site helpful, It seems to have good explanations of most things we have to watch out for and covers most places on the globe

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm

but there is nothing more helpful than the experience of others who have already been there