Antimalerials & rabies vaccine for Thai/Vietnam?

[caduceus]

I am going to SE Asia this week and was wondering whether I should bother procuring a rabies jab.
I have already bought some Doxy from Boots for malaria and took one this evening. They also said I should get a rabies jab. Now I am fully aware of the notion that they may be just after my money here, but I want to be sure. As I've just been doing some reading online (great idea :| ) into antimalarials and there seems to be a split. But slightly more saying don't bother.
Has anyone here had any experience with Doxycycline? I know each person reacts differently, but on the whole, are the side effects really that bad? As my train of thought is, better safe than sorry..

Any constructive advice/help appreciated.

Cad

[popeyewhite]

Hi, I've just returned from Thailand. Did a number of day-long jungle treks and often became food for mosquitoes and leeches. Took nothing beforehand, and nothing after, in accordance with the weight of recommendations. Felt fine.

Been back three weeks now, yesterday got a sore throat, now feel terrible, caught the cold bug from a female friend.

[Bill]

Aren't you too late for rabies? If you're handling animals or particularly far off the beaten track it might be (have been...?) a good plan but otherwise I wouldn't worry.

[neilski]

I've cycled around the entire world including south east Asia and my experience was that of any animal you're most likely to get chased by dogs but if you just stop, raise your voice, raise your arm or pick up a stone from the ground they'll s**t themselves and run the other way. Other than dogs, monkeys can carry rabies but weren't a problem for me although the advice I got was to carry an umbrella and use that as a shield between you and the monkeys when there are a lot of them.

I spent £150 on rabies vaccines as a precaution but in reality you're very unlikely to be bitten or scratched by a rabid animal (see above) and all the vaccine does is buy you an extra 24 hours to get to the nearest hospital to get treated which in SE Asia as a western tourist with cash in your pocket you're never more than a few hours and certainly less than £150 away from a hospital anyway.

I also took doxycycline in Laos & Cambodia with no side effects. I didn't bother in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore.




Disclaimer: This is my experience of the world and not fact!

[popeyewhite]

Unlikely to come into contact with rabies unless you're in a town/city, i.e. Bangkok/ Ho Chi Minh. Even then it's pretty rare, but dogs are the main culprits.

ETA just seen the comment above. Temple monkeys can bite, also watch out for bats.

Edited by popeyewhite on Tuesday 8th December 22:41

[caduceus]

Thank you for the quick replies chaps.
I will be in Bangkok and HCMC Vietnam at some point. The rest will be places like Krabi, Phuket or Pattaya.

I understand the rabies vaccine will need a week to build antibodies, but that will be enough time for when i go to Vietnam. Other than that, it's touristy stuff in Thailand. Just a lazy break to get away.

Cheers

[neilski]

You need three rabies jabs spread over 3 weeks, at least I did at the start of 2012 so you've probably left it too late anyway. The second one is one week after the first one and the third one is two weeks after the second one.

Just don't get bitten by a dog or scratched by a monkey and you'll be fine!

[Bill]

popeyewhite said:

Unlikely to come into contact with rabies unless you're in a town/city, i.e. Bangkok/ Ho Chi Minh. Even then it's pretty rare, but dogs are the main culprits.

ETA just seen the comment above. Temple monkeys can bite, also watch out for bats.

If you get bitten you need urgent intervention, and the vaccine only gives you an extra 24 hours. So if you're in a city anyway just go to a hospital.

[Ynox]

Most of Thailand is pretty low risk for Malaria - off the top of my head it's up Chiang Rai way where there's a small risk. Doxy is cheap but I thought Malarone (which if I remember right has crashed in price as you can buy generic) is a better choice as you don't have to take it for so long in comparison. Doxy can also give people a dodgy stomach / sun sensitivity.

I don't bother with anti malarials for Thailand. Not been to Vietnam, but http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/destinations/a... shows most of the usual suspects as being low risk. Your attitude to risk may vary, but I'd probably not bother.

Edit - I'd worry more about Dengue than Malaria really! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

Edited by Ynox on Wednesday 9th December 21:39