Travelling and jabs
Discussion
Hi All,
Am off to Colombia over Xmas and New Year, and was just wondering about what Vaccinations you need / are advised and how soon before the trip you have to have them. I guess the earlier treatment is more important for Malaria, and that jabs kick in much quicker??
Am going to Bogota / Armenia (coffee growing region) and Cali - as I understand it, it's the latter two where mosquitos could be a problem - especially with any trips into the countryside.
Have booked an appointment with my doctor next week, but thought I'd poll opinions here first...
Am off to Colombia over Xmas and New Year, and was just wondering about what Vaccinations you need / are advised and how soon before the trip you have to have them. I guess the earlier treatment is more important for Malaria, and that jabs kick in much quicker??
Am going to Bogota / Armenia (coffee growing region) and Cali - as I understand it, it's the latter two where mosquitos could be a problem - especially with any trips into the countryside.
Have booked an appointment with my doctor next week, but thought I'd poll opinions here first...
OK, let's start with the basics. Have you made a routine appointment with your GP or have you booked an appointment in their travel clinic? Most surgeries run nurse-led clinics for travel vaccinations and prophylactic medications. Great if your appointment is in the travel clinic, but ring up and change if you've booked a routine appointment because your GP will simply tell you to make an appointment in the travel clinic. The routine appointments are too short to deal with these due to a need to check the exact destination and the recommended prophylaxis and vaccines. This is especially important for malaria as there are four different Plasmodium species, and within each species, different sensitivity and resistance patterns to the various anti-malarials. Plasmodium falciparum is the big scary one and a medicine which provides adequate protection in one region may be totally ineffective in another.
It's important to remember that you need to start malaria prophylaxis before you get to your destination and that some vaccines can take a few weeks to a couple of months to afford protection. There are notable exceptions to this, e.g. rabies vaccine, but don't assume that vaccines will work immediately once you've received the jab. Also, even though the advice from your GP surgery will usually be free, travel medications and vaccinations are not NHS items of service so there will be a charge for the meds and the vaccines.
QQ
It's important to remember that you need to start malaria prophylaxis before you get to your destination and that some vaccines can take a few weeks to a couple of months to afford protection. There are notable exceptions to this, e.g. rabies vaccine, but don't assume that vaccines will work immediately once you've received the jab. Also, even though the advice from your GP surgery will usually be free, travel medications and vaccinations are not NHS items of service so there will be a charge for the meds and the vaccines.
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