Vaccinations for northern Laos

[simon43]

I started this as a separate topic so that search engines can more easily locate the title:

 

What vaccinations are recommended for long-stay in Luang Prabang?  Having recently returned from working in urban and rural Myanmar, my current list of vaccinations is:

 

Hepatitis A - 10/04/17
Hepatitis B - 10/04/17
Polio-Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis - 05/04/17
Japanese Encephalitus - 21/07/17
Pneumonia-13 - 21/07/17

 

I had a BCG (TB) vaccination as a child).  I think I had the other pneumonia vaccination maybe 7 years ago.  I had dengue about 6 years ago - hospitalised for 3 days...

 

I think the important one that's missing is rabies?  I will travel to rural regions outside of Luang Prabang.  Health is very good, but rabid dogs aren't choosy ????

 

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by simon43

[Sheryl]

Yes, rabies. Otherwise you are well covered but check that you also had the pneumovax 23 as well as 7.

Nothing specific to Laos but anyone over 50 should consider the Shingles vaccine. The newest (and best) one is not available here yet but the Zostavax is certainly better than nothing.

And of course annual flu vaccine -- very important if over 60-65, optional if younger.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Catoni]

If you had the full series of Hep A and Hep B, you should be good for many years, perhaps for life. 

  Your Japanese Encephalitis will need to be done again. 

   You might want to redo your Pneumonia vaccines. Pneumovax 23 and also Prevnar 13. But they should not be taken at the same time. Google it to find more info. I can’t remember what the scheduling is. 

    And don’t forget your annual flu shot and Cholera vaccine. Dukoral which you can get at the Thai Travel Clinic gives two years protection against Cholera, and as a bonus it also gives at least three months protection against Traveller’s Diarrhea caused by E.coli bacteria...the most common cause of Traveller’s Diarrhea. (There are other things that can also cause Traveller’s Diarrhea, but taking Dukoral oral vaccine,I never got sick in Thailand or Cambodia in many, many months of travel there, even off the beaten track and eating lots of street foods.)

  Tetanus shot is good for ten years. 

A lot of people do not get the Rabies shots. But if you don’t get the three pre-exposure shots and then you get exposed, you will need at least four, and perhaps five shots of Rabies vaccine, PLUS Human Rabies Immune Globulin... which can be very difficult to find in many places, and HRIG can cost a thousand bucks or maybe even two thousand bucks. 

   Once the symptoms of Rabies starts, it’s too late and chances of surviving is only about 1%. Not good!

   But if you do get the three pre-exposure Rabies Vaccine shots and get exposed to Rabies, you need only to get two further Rabies vaccine shots...and you do not need the Human Rabies Immune Globulin. No worrying if they don’t have it, and no worrying about a huge price if they do. The three pre-exposure shots are probably good for twenty years. 

     It’s something to consider. I got my three pre-exposure Rabies vaccine shots. But it’s up to you. 

   You might want to also consider meningitis vaccine. And Vivotif Typhoid oral vaccine. (four capsules) 

Cost of vaccine shots is much much lower in Thailand and Cambodia than they are in the west. 

   In Cambodia the one I would trust most is the French run Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh. 

    In Thailand there may be a number of trustworthy clinics. But the one I would trust most is the Thai Travel Clinic, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok. 

Good luck

In Thailand:

https://www.thaitravelclinic.com/cost.html

In Cambodia:

http://www.pasteur-kh.org/#

CDC travel site for info:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Edited July 31, 2019 by Catoni
Addition

[Catoni]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Yes, rabies. Otherwise you are well covered but check that you also had the pneumovax 23 as well as 7.

Nothing specific to Laos but anyone over 50 should consider the Shingles vaccine. The newest (and best) one is not available here yet but the Zostavax is certainly better than nothing.

And of course annual flu vaccine -- very important if over 60-65, optional if younger.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Yep, my wife and I had the Zostavax years ago. But we just had our two Shingrix shots last year. Should be good for a long, long time with Shingrix. Zostavax gives about 60 or 65% protection. Shingrix gives about 96% protection. You get a bit of a sore upper arm for a few days with the Shingrix shots. But that’s normal and not really a problem. Two or three days later and your just fine. 

    Tetanus shot gives you a bit of a sore upper arm for a couple days also. Normal and to be expected. I don’t have a problem with it.