Jabs for south america

jobless

hey all,
i'm traveling to south america for 6 weeks in the summer, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.
I'm just wondering what jabs i really need to get?... i dont want to book an appointment with the tropical medical bereau and get a load of extra jabs i dont really need...
also i heard they are pricey enough....any ideas roughly how much they may cost?.... thanks

Frisbee

jobless wrote: »

also i heard they are pricey enough....any ideas roughly how much they may cost?.... thanks

http://www.tmb.ie/exodus/pricelist.asp

RATM

Im going to SA also in the summer. Was just talking to my doc yesterday who advised checking out this website www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home.aspx .They have some excellent maps showing what diseases are prevalent where. Its run by the NHS in the UK.

Be very wary of Tropical Medical Bureau - they have a vested interest in selling you as many jabs as possible- they'll dip you for a grand if you're not careful.
Do your own research on what areas you're going to and google the fatalities of the diseases the jabs are protecting from. In some cases ( such as Japanese Encephalitis ) you'd be more likely to get struck by lightening 10 times over before you'd catch it but the TMB won't be telling you that.

Bacchus

RATM wrote: »

Do your own research on what areas you're going to and google the fatalities of the diseases the jabs are protecting from. In some cases ( such as Japanese Encephalitis ) you'd be more likely to get struck by lightening 10 times over before you'd catch it but the TMB won't be telling you that.

Amen to that. In fairness to the travel clinic I went to, though they recommended it on the first consultation (I think the nurse we had was a bit of a worrier), when the day came to get it they brought one of the doctors in who had a good chat with us about it and recommended against it.

To echo what was said, do your own research but I'd still listen to what the TMB say.

jobless

thanks guys... bacchus what place did you get them done?

Bacchus

I went to the Cork Travel Clinic in Mahon.
http://www.eha.ie/travel.html

vinylbomb

Heading to SA in a fortnight, for jabs I went to TMB, they werent too bad (got a comparison from a GP I know personally).

Got a twinrix (Hep A & , tetnus, typhoid & yellow fever.

1st shots and boosters came to €220 (not cheap, but not too far above what the doc reckoned either)

jobless

vinylbomb wrote: »

Heading to SA in a fortnight, for jabs I went to TMB, they werent too bad (got a comparison from a GP I know personally).

Got a twinrix (Hep A & , tetnus, typhoid & yellow fever.

1st shots and boosters came to €220 (not cheap, but not too far above what the doc reckoned either)

did you get anything for malaria?...

cailinoBAC

Depending on where you are going in those countries, you may not need malaria tablets, though they will definitely tell you to get them. I`m travelling for over 4 months and bought 5 months of doxycycline (Bi-myflin I think the trade name is), as did my boyfriend and we both got reactions at the start of our trip so we stopped taking them. I don`t think we needed to be taking them in Venezuela anyway. The only place we were a bit nervous about not taking any was Manaus in Brazil, but I think we`re ok. Argentina is definitely fine and I think you`re ok in Bolivia and Peru as long as you`re not going to the Amazon or north of Peru. We bought some Malarone off some French guys a few days ago, as they had far too many and we wanted some for a trek in Colombia. If only we could get rid of all our tabs too, haha!

Seriously though, obviously I`m not a doctor and this is only my opinion and we`d probably still be taking our tabs if we didn`t have reactions to them, but I think a lot of doctors in Europe will automatically prescribe malaria tablets when you`re going to South America and it`s not always necessary.

Tusky

Ive heard that its very common to break out in a rash when taking doxycycline . Friends have told me that you should just buy the Malaria tablets over there, as they are much cheaper and readily available.

220 euro sounds like a lot of money for jabs...I was hoping it would come to less.

clogs2

hi i looked into getting jabs for south america-going to brazil,bolivia, peru and venezuela. costa roughly €500 wit tropical medical bureau, a friend of mine chekd wit her g.p and its costing €170 how can this be right??!!!any one know wot jabs i definitely need!!goin to iguassu falls but not deep amazon.

breadmonkey

I think Doxy reactions must vary enormously from person to person. I took it for 12 weeks and had no reactions at all. Although Malarone has the benefit of only having to take it for a week after you leave the malaria zone (as opposed to 4 weeks for Doxy), Doxy is just a broad spectrum antibiotic which helps you fight off other stuff too.

vinylbomb

breadmonkey wrote: »

I think Doxy reactions must vary enormously from person to person.

True that. To be honest, when I was in Chang Mai 5 years ago I saw some car crashes though, people sleepwalking and doing really nutty ****. I didnt bother even taking mine after seeing them. that said, there were people who took them without any adverse effects.

Im in Brazil at the mo, and I plan to cover myself in industrial strength DEET if I go anywhere near malarial areas on my trip (only really the Salt Flats in Bolivia), worked OK for me in Thailand.

vinylbomb

clogs2 wrote: »

hi i looked into getting jabs for south america-going to brazil,bolivia, peru and venezuela. costa roughly €500 wit tropical medical bureau, a friend of mine chekd wit her g.p and its costing €170 how can this be right??!!!any one know wot jabs i definitely need!!goin to iguassu falls but not deep amazon.

Have a look at the list I posted earlier in this thread. They charged me 220 for that, and that is all yoll need given that you cant get a shot for malaria.

SheroN

Is it worth getting a mosquito net?

breadmonkey

vinylbomb wrote: »

True that. To be honest, when I was in Chang Mai 5 years ago I saw some car crashes though, people sleepwalking and doing really nutty ****. I didnt bother even taking mine after seeing them. that said, there were people who took them without any adverse effects.

These side effects are typical of those taking Larium, not Doxycycline.

SheroN wrote: »

Is it worth getting a mosquito net?

No, you won't use it. Any place where mozzies are so bad that a net would be required will usually provide them. I threw mine in the bin after a few days.

clogs2

i had my consultation at the tropical medical bureau today, malaria not a high risk where i will be in south america, apparently even peru is fine!
its going to work out at around €250 including consultation (i dont need yellow fever or hep A tho)