Injections for Asia

[Adamson10489]

Just ask... What injections has everyone had/ is going to have to travel around Thailand etc... We have been advised to have rabies and japanese encephalitis, shall we have them? Also if travelling to Cambodia would you recommend the malaria tablets as I've read numerous posts saying not to bother.

[CharlieH]

WRONG FORUM

MOVED

[Tim207]

After more than a decade I am still alive and never got vaccinated for anything, other than my childhood vaccines. Only problems I ever had were an ear infection and a case of "the monkey pox". I am thinking you got your info from Lonely Planet.

[kurnell]

After more than a decade I am still alive and never got vaccinated for anything, other than my childhood vaccines. Only problems I ever had were an ear infection and a case of "the monkey pox". I am thinking you got your info from Lonely Planet.

2 decades for me

[cooked]

I got most of the vaccinations recommended before moving here, not expensive and no harm done. It depends where you are living in Thailand and what you intend to get up to.

http://www.travelhealth.ie/Countries/Thailand.php

For instance if you are going for jungle trekking, maybe a good idea to get the shots done. My main worries are diseases transferred through ticks, I get bitten regularly despite assiduously tackling the problem. Then again there is malaria and dengue, which you can't do anything to prevent either. I'm happy I got a rabies shot, even though you do still need treatment if you get bitten, tetanus just seems like common sense to me if you are working in your garden / farm. Hepatitis B can be transmitted sexually.

Some people seem to take great pride in the fact that they don't get shots. I worked out of doors all my life and didn't feel the need to express my manliness by not having shots.

Anyway, up to you, living in Pattaya isn't the same as living out in the sticks like me.

[h90]

Hepatitis A, B would be a good idea.

[Tim207]

Some people seem to take great pride in the fact that they don't get shots. I worked out of doors all my life and didn't feel the need to express my manliness by not having shots.

Anyway, up to you, living in Pattaya isn't the same as living out in the sticks like me.

I think you might be showing a bit of your own insecurity about your manliness here. I certainly don't think getting shots or not has anything to do with manliness. You read that part in all by yourself. I just don't believe the odds of getting rare diseases merits the trouble of vaccinations. Millions of Thais and other SE Asians do just fine without them.

And what is with the Pattaya reference? The OP said traveling around Thailand not Pattaya. I guess that is a reference to me. Does living in the sticks make you feel more manly, help disuade some of your insecurity?

For the record, I do not nor have I ever lived in Pattaya. I spent 3 days there my first year in Thailand and that was enough.

I got my ear infection crawling around a mangrove swamp catching shrimp by hand. The "monkey pox" was from a troop of monkeys in a national forest that stole half my dinner and unfortunately I did not notice they had punctured the packaging of the part I saved. None of that makes me feel manly. As a matter of fact manliness never entered into my thought process before you mentioned it. You keep thinking about how manly you are "living in the sticks" and I will go on living day to day life. Oh yeah, I will be sure to warn my little sister about the dangers of ticks should it happen that we find another snake in the yard so full of ticks it can hardly move and she wants me to hold it while she picks them off.

[FBN]

Certainly Hep A, B

Japanese Encephalitis if you intend jungle and remote area travel.

Malaria prophylaxis depends on where you are traveling to; only prevalent in the border areas of Myanmar and Cambodia.

Rabies definitely recommended.

[cooked]

Some people seem to take great pride in the fact that they don't get shots. I worked out of doors all my life and didn't feel the need to express my manliness by not having shots.

Anyway, up to you, living in Pattaya isn't the same as living out in the sticks like me.

I think you might be showing a bit of your own insecurity about your manliness here. I certainly don't think getting shots or not has anything to do with manliness. You read that part in all by yourself. I just don't believe the odds of getting rare diseases merits the trouble of vaccinations. Millions of Thais and other SE Asians do just fine without them.

And what is with the Pattaya reference? The OP said traveling around Thailand not Pattaya. I guess that is a reference to me. Does living in the sticks make you feel more manly, help disuade some of your insecurity?

For the record, I do not nor have I ever lived in Pattaya. I spent 3 days there my first year in Thailand and that was enough.

I got my ear infection crawling around a mangrove swamp catching shrimp by hand. The "monkey pox" was from a troop of monkeys in a national forest that stole half my dinner and unfortunately I did not notice they had punctured the packaging of the part I saved. None of that makes me feel manly. As a matter of fact manliness never entered into my thought process before you mentioned it. You keep thinking about how manly you are "living in the sticks" and I will go on living day to day life. Oh yeah, I will be sure to warn my little sister about the dangers of ticks should it happen that we find another snake in the yard so full of ticks it can hardly move and she wants me to hold it while she picks them off.

Deary me, your insecurity IS showing. I never said that you lived in Pattaya, I meant that living in a place like Pattaya isn't the same as living out in the sticks doing farm work. You maybe don't have to worry about tetanus so much living in a place like Pattaya as you do living out here. It is worth worrying about though.

Every time there is a thread about getting shots, the first people to jump in with an answer are saying, proudly it seems, that they never had shots. I wasn't referring to you directly it is you who feels that I was.

Rare diseases: estimates are that 10 -15 % of people in Asia have hepatitis B. Your remarks about ticks, which I do worry about more than getting Hepatitis or rabies, are incomprehensible to me. I can't take shots against tick born diseases but I can spray around the house and wear long trousers and shirts when I go into the jungle. I live out in the sticks here, as I have been doing all my life in Europe, because I prefer it, not because it makes me feel manly but because I prefer the freedom, peace and quiet.

I don't see any point in taking risks by not taking shots. If they do develop a dengue vaccine, I will take it.

[Tim207]

Deary me, your insecurity IS showing. I never said that you lived in Pattaya, I meant that living in a place like Pattaya isn't the same as living out in the sticks doing farm work. You maybe don't have to worry about tetanus so much living in a place like Pattaya as you do living out here. It is worth worrying about though.

Every time there is a thread about getting shots, the first people to jump in with an answer are saying, proudly it seems, that they never had shots. I wasn't referring to you directly it is you who feels that I was.

Rare diseases: estimates are that 10 -15 % of people in Asia have hepatitis B. Your remarks about ticks, which I do worry about more than getting Hepatitis or rabies, are incomprehensible to me. I can't take shots against tick born diseases but I can spray around the house and wear long trousers and shirts when I go into the jungle. I live out in the sticks here, as I have been doing all my life in Europe, because I prefer it, not because it makes me feel manly but because I prefer the freedom, peace and quiet.

I don't see any point in taking risks by not taking shots. If they do develop a dengue vaccine, I will take it.

My mistake then. Seemed to me you were dismissing my comments as someone who props himself up on a barstool in pattaya.

For the average person traveling around asia as the OP suggested the need for special vaccinations is in my opinion overblown. Odds are very low of contracting one of the diseases that can be prevented through vaccination. My point was not that people should not be vaccinated, just that the risks don't justify the fear that is propagated by the travel guides. If you want to be extra special double dog safe go ahead but don't get all worked up on what the guides say you must have. To the contrary of the guide books alluding to how you will likely spend an agonizing trip in the hospital if you don't get the proper vaccinations, very very few people ever contract the diseases they say you must vaccinate against.

As for ticks, as you said, not much you can do about what they carry so it is a mute point. My point once again is that I see no reason for paranoia. Odds are low, take precaution but don't worry too much about it.

[tim armstrong]

As others have said, unless you are really trekking through the swamps and jungle in remote areas, its not really worth getting all the shots. In all my 65yrs I've only been near 2 rabid animals - both in a French National park and only heard rather than saw them. Monkey bites or scratches have the potential for infection, but up to you. I will continue to live dangerously.

[Sheryl]

Certainly Hep A, B

Japanese Encephalitis if you intend jungle and remote area travel.

Malaria prophylaxis depends on where you are traveling to; only prevalent in the border areas of Myanmar and Cambodia.

Rabies definitely recommended.

As above, though for Japanese B I would recommend it if you will be in any rural part of Cambodia as it is very widespread there. The vector is pigs and as you will see, pigs roam all over the Cambodian countryside.

Depending on your age you may already have received hep A and B so check your immunization records. If not, definitely recommended.

Rabies yes, otherwise if bitten -- as can easily happen, lots of stray dogs about - you will have to undergo a long and painful series of injections.

Needless to say, ignore the "I didn't get any vaccines and I'm fine" types of "advise", they are right up there with "I never wear a seat belt and I haven't been injured in an accident".

[h90]

Certainly Hep A, B

Japanese Encephalitis if you intend jungle and remote area travel.

Malaria prophylaxis depends on where you are traveling to; only prevalent in the border areas of Myanmar and Cambodia.

Rabies definitely recommended.

As above, though for Japanese B I would recommend it if you will be in any rural part of Cambodia as it is very widespread there. The vector is pigs and as you will see, pigs roam all over the Cambodian countryside.

Depending on your age you may already have received hep A and B so check your immunization records. If not, definitely recommended.

Rabies yes, otherwise if bitten -- as can easily happen, lots of stray dogs about - you will have to undergo a long and painful series of injections.

Needless to say, ignore the "I didn't get any vaccines and I'm fine" types of "advise", they are right up there with "I never wear a seat belt and I haven't been injured in an accident".

Add: On Hep A and B: you also need to check the anti bodies. I got several times vaccinated and the Hep A antibodies are here, but no Hep B.

Lab told either the vaccine doesn't work for me or I am naturally immune against Hep B.....which didn't sound very scientific to me....

[GaryB1263]

I have all my shots.