If you are going to get vaccinated for your next trip expect to part with a pocket full of cash. So, is the thought of spending good money on something you might not need, the potential side effects, the numerous trips to see the doctor and nurse, and of course finally enduring a needle in both arms at the same time, really worth it? And how many think of getting vaccinated, even if the trip is only a short duration?
Well I guess the simplest answer is that if you can guarantee that you won’t get infected, catch a disease or other life threatening illness, then yes, getting vaccinated is a complete waste of money. After that though you can start balancing the protection a vaccination might give you against the chances of actually being exposed to you getting one of those infections, diseases or illnesses that will kill you; sometimes not in a nice way.
Rabies
Once the virus infects the central nervous system and clinical symptoms appear, rabies is fatal in 100% of cases.
- Furious rabies results in hyperactivity, excitable behaviour, hallucinations, lack of coordination, hydrophobia (fear of water) and aerophobia (fear of drafts or of fresh air). Death occurs after a few days due to cardio-respiratory arrest.
- Paralytic rabies accounts for about 20% of the total number of human cases. This form of rabies runs a less dramatic and usually longer course than the furious form. Muscles gradually become paralysed, starting from the wound site. A coma slowly develops and eventually death occurs. The paralytic form of rabies is often misdiagnosed, contributing to the under-reporting of the disease.
Maybe the chances of getting rabies is low, but it can be found in many of the countries we visit. Bali is a great tourist spot for Australians, and it has rabies. Is it found in some tropical species of mammal that you have to get off the beaten track to come across? No, absolutely not, domestic dogs can carry rabies; they’re the ones you stumble over after having a few beers and they lash out with their teeth; oops here might come rabies.
We decided to err on the safer side of coming across contracting something nasty and initially had a travel consult with our GP. They ran through various health questions and reviewed the advice and provided the following recommendations. Some, like Hepatitis A, have the option of a booster which increases the period of time it’s effective, which is well worth an additional needle.
These are the vaccines we were recommended to have: (Those not in bold we already had, and didn’t need to get vaccinated again.)
- Hepatitis A, plus booster after six months
- Hepatitis B
- COVID booster
- Diphtheria
- Polio
- Tetanus
- Japanese encephalitis, plus booster after four-weeks
- Rabies, plus booster after one week
- Cholera, plus booster after one week. (This is an oral vaccination, so no needles required!)
There are a few countries that require a yellow fever vaccination for entry if you’re coming from a country with yellow fever, but our trips so far aren’t taking us there, that’s why yellow fever is not on the list. Malaria is one that we thought about long and hard. We took advise from our doctor, looked at information from various government websites, and from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and finally decided we would take all precautions, but no vaccinations. Malaria is a treatable disease as long as you get treatment quickly, which does mean we have to watch for symptoms for 12-months after we return from areas having a malaria risk.
At the end of the day it’s a decision that is your own to make. Unless you’re spending a long time in a country where the above diseases and illnesses are prevalent, or you’re visiting areas of a country where the incidences are high you might not need to be vaccinated. However, at the end of the day not being vaccinated increases your risk of contracting something nasty which may cause a short-term illness at best, or
