Vaccine for Thailand

TheTwiz

At the end of the month i'm off to Phuket and Samui for 3 weeks. As these are touristy spots is there much need to get the vaccines done?

Thanks

Four of a kind

TheTwiz wrote: »

At the end of the month i'm off to Phuket and Samui for 3 weeks. As these are touristy spots is there much need to get the vaccines done?

Thanks

As far as im aware you won't need any vaccines for these spots. However, If you planned on doing any trekking further afield then you'd be safer getting some jabs imo.

whatsyourquota

you will need to get hepatitis a and typhoid anyway and probably tetanus. Hepatitis b is sometimes recomended but I doubt it will be in your case

Stinicker

whatsyourquota wrote: »

you will need to get hepatitis a and typhoid anyway and probably tetanus. Hepatitis b is sometimes recomended but I doubt it will be in your case

It is worth getting the Hepatitis B vaccine without ever going on Holiday as it is just one of two STD's alongside HPV you can vaccinate yourself against ! It takes 6 months so not enough time for the OP, I am getting my final vaccine this week before going away the week after!

con1982

Planning a trip around Thailand and Cambodia fo June. I dont intend to sleep rough or find love on my holiday......

I spoke with a nurse in my local GP's office and someone from Travel Vaccine Bureau today. They both independently confirmed that Hep B vaccines can be done in 2 months.

Does anyone know where is the cheapest place for vaccines for Hep B, Hep A, tetanus and typhoid?

GP said 35euro for Hep B jab. Only the one. Booster is required but i forgot to ask price. TVB said 255euro for all travel vaccines. They said Hep B is 100euro alone.

Im confused!

con1982

After some additional searching I found

http://www.drumcondraclinic.com
http://www.travelhealth.ie

Travel healt have prices. About 150 for a thorough vaccination as far as i can see

Todd Gack

D2 Medical Centre works out cheaper than TMB anyway. The prices are listed here;

http://www.d2medical.ie/travel_vaccine_centre.asp

Stinicker

Get the rabies vaccine also, it is very important as in Thailand there are many stray cats and dogs (a Buddhist thing) and the last study had 53% of stray dogs as rabid, if you get bitten and are not vaccinated (or get the PEP vaccine within 24hrs) then you will develop human rabies and something like only 9 or 10 people have ever survived it as it is lethal.

It has become a forgotten disease in our rabies free country, yet kills many thousands every year in the developing world. Rabies is a pretty large threat throughout Thailand, South East Asia and other Buddhist countries, yet doesn't get the same level of importance given as the likes of Typhoid, Hepatitis etc.

The strays in Thailand are because of the buddhist ideology of hurt nothing etc. when they should all be rounded up and put down like we do in the west.

killbillvol2

Stinicker wrote: »

Get the rabies vaccine also, it is very important as in Thailand there are many stray cats and dogs (a Buddhist thing) and the last study had 53% of stray dogs as rabid, if you get bitten and are not vaccinated (or get the PEP vaccine within 24hrs) then you will develop human rabies and something like only 9 or 10 people have ever survived it as it is lethal.

It has become a forgotten disease in our rabies free country, yet kills many thousands every year in the developing world. Rabies is a pretty large threat throughout Thailand, South East Asia and other Buddhist countries, yet doesn't get the same level of importance given as the likes of Typhoid, Hepatitis etc.

The strays in Thailand are because of the buddhist ideology of hurt nothing etc. when they should all be rounded up and put down like we do in the west.

What a load of crap. Correct me if I'm wrong here, you've never been to Thailand, right?

Apart from your rambling generalisations about stray animals in a country you've never been to there's a more important point to note. Even if you've been vaccinated you still have to get jabs if you're bitten by a rabid animal. A vaccination only buys you some time and is completely unnecessary unless you're going to be more than 24 hours from a hospital.

ElectraX

I would recommend going to Travel Health clinic on Dawson Street. They are very friendly, informative, professional and have competitive pricing.
For Thailand I got Hep A and B, Typhoid and Tetanus. The clinic advised that the Rabies injections isn't a neccesity. As said by the poster above, it only buys you time, you would still need to seek treatment in Thailand anyway.

killbillvol2

ElectraX wrote: »

I would recommend going to Travel Health clinic on Dawson Street. They are very friendly, informative, professional and have competitive pricing.
For Thailand I got Hep A and B, Typhoid and Tetanus. The clinic advised that the Rabies injections isn't a neccesity. As said by the poster above, it only buys you time, you would still need to seek treatment in Thailand anyway.

How much for those, as a matter of interest?

ElectraX

I paid 230 euros in total.
55 eur- Initial consultation
15 eur- Tetanus
25 eur-Typhoid
135 eur- Hep A and B combined. Three 45 eur injections spread out over three weeks.

Though these were pretty reasonable prices, considering that if I go for a booster next year I have 25 years immunity from Hep A and lifetime for Hep B. Also the Tetanus and Typhoid injections last for 10 years and 3 years respectively.The prices in the Travel Health clinic are definitely a bit cheaper than the TMB.
My big expense was that I need to get anti-malaria medication for parts of Vietnam and Cambodia I was travelling to. This isn't required for any part of Thailand south of Bangkok.

wolfyboy555

I got mine done in d2 medical center. Total was 130 quid for Hep A, Typhoid and a 3 in 1 for Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio. As far as i'm aware you only really need Hep B if your planning on sleeping with the locals or having fun with some of their needles over there!

ElectraX

If you were involved in a bad car accident in South East Asia, you couldn't guarantee that the hospital you were brought to was using new needles. This is not so much the case in Thailand as their hospitals are very westernised, but it occasionally is the case in rural areas, especially in Cambodia, which is why Hep B would be essential in an incident like this. May sound over precautious but I wouldn't take any chances!

killbillvol2

ElectraX wrote: »

I paid 230 euros in total.
55 eur- Initial consultation
15 eur- Tetanus
25 eur-Typhoid
135 eur- Hep A and B combined. Three 45 eur injections spread out over three weeks.

Though these were pretty reasonable prices, considering that if I go for a booster next year I have 25 years immunity from Hep A and lifetime for Hep B. Also the Tetanus and Typhoid injections last for 10 years and 3 years respectively.The prices in the Travel Health clinic are definitely a bit cheaper than the TMB.
My big expense was that I need to get anti-malaria medication for parts of Vietnam and Cambodia I was travelling to. This isn't required for any part of Thailand south of Bangkok.

If you're going to Thailand first you'll get the malaria meds for much less in Boots in Bangkok than you'll pay here. Just bring the prescription, or better still, get their advice - you'll find a qualified, English-speaking pharmacist who'll have a bit of local knowledge.

And you're right, Hep B is essential for travel anywhere off the beaten track.

Stinicker

killbillvol2 wrote: »

What a load of crap. Correct me if I'm wrong here, you've never been to Thailand, right?

Apart from your rambling generalisations about stray animals in a country you've never been to there's a more important point to note. Even if you've been vaccinated you still have to get jabs if you're bitten by a rabid animal. A vaccination only buys you some time and is completely unnecessary unless you're going to be more than 24 hours from a hospital.

I am currently in Thailand and the reason I made the post was I got bitten by a stray cat while trekking north of Chiang Mai, I had to get the post exposure prolaxis PEP Vaccine and will have to get six rounds of it just in case. There are many stray dogs and yes some are pets but to me I have to assume all are rabid. I like the others in my group was wearing sandals when the cat went bananas scrawling and biting my own leg.

Healthcare in Chiang Mai was both clean, effficent and affordable.

ElectraX

Malarone is not available in Thailand, the other anti malaria medication Doxycycline is. Although Malarone is way more expensive, I think the difference was 4 eur per day as opposed to 1 eur per day, it is proven to have way less side effects.
I had no issues on Malarone, whereas I know people who went for the cheaper option Doxycycline and regretted it...nausea, stomach cramps, night sweats.
I'm sure there are people who bought anti malaria medication in Bangkok and were fine, but too many people had advised me to fork out the extra for malarone, that there must be some truth in it.

ElectraX

Stinicker wrote: »

I am currently in Thailand and the reason I made the post was I got bitten by a stray cat while trekking north of Chiang Mai, I had to get the post exposure prolaxis PEP Vaccine and will have to get six rounds of it just in case. There are many stray dogs and yes some are pets but to me I have to assume all are rabid. I like the others in my group was wearing sandals when the cat went bananas scrawling and biting my own leg.

Healthcare in Chiang Mai was both clean, effficent and affordable.

Sorry to hear that! Sounds like very bad luck, haven't heard of anyone else getting bitten by a stray animal in Thailand like that before.
Now there was a guy I worked with who got bitten by a lady boy, during a mugging he claims, but that's a whole different story:rolleyes: