Typhoid vaccination - your opinion please

The Government of VietNam has different takes on prevention and generally takes guidance from the WHO. For example, anti-malarial precautions.

I've been here years and quite honestly, I don't bother with anti-malaria or anti-Jap E precautions other than taking anti-mosquito precautions.

Renewal dates are a little like Best Before, you aren't going to drop dead on the day after Best Before, there's usually plenty of residual preventive medicine remaining in your body.

I would go with the doctor, especially since he would gain monetarily from giving you a 2 year boost. Sounds like an honest guy.

Many Foreigners don't realise that many cases of both mosquito-borne malaria and Dengue fever are found here, right in TP HCM. There were reports of two infections in PMH last year.

Research has found people born in the Mekong develope an immunity to both malaria and Dengue by the time they are 20.

Bats are all over TP HCM and carry Rabies.

I don't have anything except basic insurance, my main insurance is a return ticket to Canada or the UK where there is free overage.

Again, save your money and be like the other 90-odd million people here who don't take precautions!

Jaitch wrote:

Many Foreigners don't realise that many cases of both mosquito-borne malaria and Dengue fever are found here, right in TP HCM.

I wasn't aware of malaria here and have not heard of any cases of it.

Dengue Fever yep I can vouch for that one, I picked up a nasty strain of it last year and my eyes are still damaged from it now! Hopefully another month or so and should be recovered.
I picked that up in TP HCM, i can probably even tell you which bar I was in!

Just found this, never seen it before :
http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinat … a-map.aspx

I'm surprised by the coverage, guess TP HCM is on the edge of it.

Yeah, I know there can be residual left in the body for some time, but not a years worth.  And I thought about the fact that obviously the doctor didn't want my money.  But honestly, he started out sounding like he knew what he was talking about (with the 3 years), but then when I showed him what my card said, he seemed to be uncertain.  And why do most sites say 2 years if it's not.  I know the pharmeceutical companies will do anything to make an extra buck, but isn't that going too far?

I'm not from Canada - I'm not so lucky as to have socialized medicine.   So I have to do what I can to avoid being sick. Thanks for the info.

laidbackfreak wrote:

I wasn't aware of malaria here and have not heard of any cases of it.

Dengue Fever yep I can vouch for that one, I picked up a nasty strain of it last year and my eyes are still damaged from it now! Hopefully another month or so and should be recovered.
I picked that up in TP HCM, i can probably even tell you which bar I was in!

You should read the VN language newspapers. You no doubt realise there are two news worlds in VietNam: the real news and the Foreigner news. Did you read of the father who roasted his son alive because he had a fight with his wife? Only in VNese language papers.

Most non-VNese language papers only have the good news.

Did you know VN has now switched to lethal injection from a bullet in the head?

Likewise with illness. Look at TP HCM. Most people only see downtown: Cu Chi is in TP HCM (one travel Wiki remarks: Note that all the tunnel sections at this site have been specially created for tourists and were never part of the real network. Also note that bats can be found roosting in some of the tunnels, so if you get bitten or scratched by one find a hospital quickly as bats may carry rabies.)

Look at Quan 7, Quans Binh Chanh and Cam Gio - all part of the city and much of it is barely disturbed wild country.

I have a windscreen on my Kymco and often, when I drive back to DakLak overnight, it gets seriously whacked by bats and a few times cleaning the bike includes disposing of dead bats.

That's why I say Respect the Bugs, there are some wild things flying around in TP HCM. A friends child was stung in the ear and her head swelled up and she lost her sense of balance -lasted best part of a month. Right in her 15th floor apartment bedroom, right in downtown PMH!

Know what a rabid dog looks like? Even more importantly, how to deal with it.

Gia Lai Province is very, very bad for mosquitoes in January through June because the heavy rains cause heavy mosquito births and you can get your protein simply by taking deep breaths. Like blackfly in an Ontario, Canada, springtime.

Jaitch,
Am I reading correctly that you did not get any vaccinations? I am wondering which ones I need, if any. I'll arrive in HCM in 5 days. I have a tetanus shot from a while ago but thats about it. No health insurance, but I am very healthy and young. Everyone here is telling me to get the vaccinations, I was wondering what you guys would recommend.

Thanks

I can't speak for Jaitch, but I can confirm I did not have any vaccinations prior to coming here.

I dont think that I will end up getting any. Have you had any vaccines since youve been there, or had or seen any problems? From what I've read most of the diseases you can get are cured with some antibiotics, except for JE and Hep B. JE looks like it is predominately in the north so there's not a big chance of picking that up.

I've not had any vaccines since I've been here. I did pick up a bad case of dengue fever, but there isn't an approved vaccine for that anyways.
As for other diseases they are around but you've gotta be pretty unlucky to pick em up.

I'm one of the cheapest people you'll ever meet, but like someone else said somewhere, what's a few bucks to save your life?  Or, if you don't care about your life, but you do care about spending thousands in a hospital for something that could have easily been prevented...what's a few bucks to save the thousands your definately risking?  You don't mention how long you'll be here or where you're headed, but if you travel at all, you should automatically get your staple shots of tetanus (every 10 years), polio (once in your life), one of the other childhood vaccinations which you probably got as a kid, Hep A, Hep B (these don't need to be updated at all, I believe, so it certainly isn't a waste of money) and typhoid.  If you get food poisoning, which is certainly not out of the question in a 2nd/3rd world country, you'll probably be thankful you had your shots.  You can go to the local expat hospitals here and get them, but you should have them before arriving.

Just sayin'.

I had most of the preliminary shots as a kid. The ones that I would need are the mosquito/water borne diseases. I dont entirely trust vaccines and have read that some are not that reliable, like the Typhoid. With that being said, I do plan on being in Vietnam for at least a year and traveling a good bit. I'll give it some more thought, thanks for the info on where to get them.

@laidbackfreak
What did you do when you came down with Dengue? and would you recommend going to a Western or a local doctor?

Hi Ed, I went to a local hospital recommended to me by my then Boss's wife. They were good and looked after me well enough. Took my blood and diagnosed me. Gave me some medicines (anti-biotic, some pain killers and another that I can't recall now) I'm not convinced any of them were effective in treating me, but they helped eased the my mind at least.
The only down side was I ended up with some retinal damage due to hemorrhaging in the back of my eyes which I'm still recovering from almost a year later.

Having picked up typhoid while living in Hanoi in 2005, I would definitely recommend getting a typhoid shot.  after 3 nights on a drip and heavy duty antibiotics at the SOS International, its not something I would wish upon anyone.  The fever was intense and it felt like my head was going to explode...

I got typhoid almost 3yrs after having had the shot.  So it may be worth having it redone every 3yrs. Having lived here for 4 yrs previously and back again now in Saigon, I havent had any any other shots.  the best you can do is try and prevent being bitten or avoiding places where dishes are being done near the toilet, if thats at all possible..

I personally would more believe in the doctor than the board doctor.
Health is a serious issue. I know, in Europe, there are no (common) vaccinations advised unless you have ...

l3ully wrote:

I personally would more believe in the doctor than the board doctor

Couldn't agree more

l3ully wrote:

I personally would more believe in the doctor than the board doctor.

I believe the original post asked for 'your opinion please'.  No request was made for medical opinion, as that had already been obtained. 

Believe what you want, but this was my personal experience and opinion.  Take from it what you will, but most of it is just common sense, and not of a medical nature.

Ive worked in medical centers most of my career and have a healthy respect for Doctors.  But when a travel medicine Doctor also tells me I should be on anti-malarials even though Im living here long-term, then chances are might respectfully refute that advice.  I'd like to think Ive been in the region long enough to know whats necessary.

Thanks anyway for making a new member feel welcome to this forum.  You just reminded me why I dont normally bother...

daveoi wrote:

l3ully wrote:

I personally would more believe in the doctor than the board doctor.

I believe the original post asked for 'your opinion please'.

Quite correct and everyone is welcome to give their own opinion, but at the end of the day we should all refer this stuff to the professionals. I don't think anyone was saying your input was invalid or not relevant.

daveoi wrote:

Thanks anyway for making a new member feel welcome to this forum.

Hi and welcome to the board pull up a chair grab some popcorn and enjoy the show, its usually fun in here

It is all up to you dear! I travelled to Vietnam earlier this year from Jan. 18 thru April 11 2013. I didn't get any vaccinations at all. I just took grapefruit seed extract and probiotics everyday in pill form and I did fine. The first two weeks it did take my bowels to adjust to the new diet (organic). I ate pretty much everything I wanted. Drank bottled water, beer, soda, etc. I even lost 20 lbs during that time but that was due to organic ingredients and absolutely no fast foods or packaged foods like back in the U.S. Just use common sense when eating out. If a lot locals and foreigners eat there, it is probably o.k. Don't drink local water or beverages if you aren't sure of their origins. Practice clean hygiene. I always clean my eating utensils with alcohol wipes. I also didn't visit any farms or made contact with dogs and cats. I can't say anything about the bats. But I think I would probably get the rabies shot or booster just in case one does bite you. I live in Miami, Fl. The travel clinics here like to charge anywhere between $500-$1500 for travel vaccinations. But again, it is better to be safe then sorry.