to think my friends are silly to go on holiday without the appropriate vaccinations?

[JRmumma]

My 2 very dear friends have recently realised that they had booked a holiday and not thought about whether they need any vaccinations/malaria tablets. They are leaving in just under a week and so called the Drs to enquire about it as soon as the issue was brought to their attention.

To cut a long story short, yes they do need vaccinations and malaria tablets but have been told that a) its too late as they wouldn't have time to work before they go, and b) there are no available appointments anyway. Therefore they will go away without taking the appropriate precautions.

AIBU to think that it is risky to travel in this case not only for themselves but that they could bring something back and give it to me or my 5mo DS? Should we keep our distance on their return for a period of time?

They will need the following information... The Bumrungrad hospital in Bangkok is wonderful. That was where I spent a week after getting a tropical disease (because yes, foreigners do get them).

Malaria has killed, according to unchecked facts, half the people who have died since the beginning of time. It's an incredibly successful disease.

Is that everyone that has died ever? Inc war, natural disaster etc? If so that's extraordinary and terrible.

It depends on which unchecked internets you look at. I think it is 'ever died' because malaria has killed as many people as every other disease put together.

Doxycline is much cheaper, start taking the day otd needed.

Deet spray at night and also there is a type of incense you can burn at night. Cant remember the name. Anyway that was the most effective way of keeping them away.

They need to try and get the vaccinations, but they will probably be OK without the malaria tablets as long as they are not prone to getting bitten and use proper insect repellent.

This time of year is not quite as high risk for malaria as Oct / Nov because the rainy season finished a while ago and there won't be as much standing water around.

We stopped taking our malaria tablets when we went to Goa because they made us feel really sick but we were very careful to take as many precautions against getting bitten as we could.

Eeeek, I hate to go against all the sensible advice here, but malaria tablets themselves can be pretty awful and unhealthy. It makes sense to find a travel clinic and see if they can go for a few of the jabs before they go, but my experience is that protecting themselves very carefully from bites in the first place is the safest policy.

This is what happens when otherwise sensible people do not take proper precautions.

As others have said you can get vaccines at travel clinics and buy malaria tablets over the counter which can be started right up to the day of travelling. I wonder if their travel insurance would cover them if they became ill because they are not following the recommendations.

Thanks all. So, malaria aside (because I'm thinking mainly here about things they could transmit), there are quite a few things they should have been vaccinated against that they COULD pick up from going to remote places/eating and drinking without taking precautions, and COULD bring back.

I don't want to be hysterical about it but want to ensure the health of my son. Does a couple of weeks avoidance on their return sound sensible and long enough that they would be symptomatic by then if they had caught anything?

Well, if you are not bitten you cannot get malaria.

But it only takes one bite from an infected insect to cause a disease which can be fatal. And most people conclude that, because bite prevention can fail, a level of chemoprophylaxis is needed too.

Whether it's needed for Thailand depends on which regions you plan to go to. Have they had their itinerary checked by a travel health specialist?

Jazz, microbial disease kills far far more people than war and relatively rare natural disasters. The 1918 flu outbreak killed more people than the first and second world wars put together (or so I have read).

medi no they haven't. They are winging it for the majority of the time and like to do unusual things/extreme sports etc so id have imagined that they should have covered all bases health protection-wise.

I spent some time in the Gambia after 4 years of studying various tropical diseases, and met one of the scientists on base who not only had malaria himself (despite being a native, but he only had a mild case), but who lost his youngest daughter to malaria whilst I was working with him. It was tragic, but pretty much the norm to his community. (I also saw cattle that we were taking blood from one day, lying dead in the field the next day after being infected from tsetse fly bites - it was impressive the speed at which the parasites killed them. Terrifying, too!)

I used copious amounts of insect repellent and still got bitten, so was very glad of the antimalarials I was taking. I was very lucky not to get any other nasty infections from the mosquito bites, too.

OP, I would be less concerned about them transmitting diseases to your child, as they are unlikely to bring insect vectors home with them, or share blood with your child - but I think I would worry about how they could be so utterly stupid as to not take precautions when travelling overseas. They wouldn't have unprotected sex with a stranger, would they? So why risk unprotected insect bites?!

Hepatitis you want to avoid them forever. Not what I would do, but you did ask.

They need to go to a travel clinic as soon as possible as they need to start taking the antimalaria tablets.

Well according to This NHS Advice only Hep A and Tetanus are usually advised.

Cholera; Diphtheria; Japanese Encephalitis; Rabies; Typhoid should be considered but aren't essential and of those only Diphtheria is seriously contagious as long as you aren't sharing bodily fluids.

As long as you have had your son vaccinated, then he should have immunity to Diphtheria anyway, so I don't think you have anything to worry about on their return.

Piscivorus This is what happens when otherwise sensible people do not take proper precautions.

That article clearly says that only 2 people died from Malaria in the UK last year yet over 60,000 visited Gambia, let alone the hundreds of thousands that visit other countries with Malaria. A large proportion of them do not take anti-malaria tablets, so while an example of what could happen, it is quite an exaggeration to say that it will happen.

You do sound a bit paranoid, OP.

My brother has Hepatitis C (the REALLY nasty one) & hasn't give it to anyone thru casual contact.

I'd worry more if they caught TB, in fact, than hepatitis.

Thanks bloomin that's v helpful and informative. He should be fine then.

Not so sure about my friends though, i hope they have at least considered the precautions they need to take in absence of immunity! Might call them later and send them that link.

Blooming, only 2 died. More will have had the disease.

In any case, risk of contracting the disease will depend on lifestyle.

If they were to stick to hotels, with window nets, air conditioning, and high floors, etc, the risk is much reduced.
If they are going to rural areas, particularly near rice fields, camping or using rural hotels, then the risk may be higher.

Thanks all. I'm already fairly clued up on hepatitis so not actually that worried about those ones. I also have friends with hep C and am in no way concerned about contact with them.

On reading the NHS advice (pretty embarrassed i didn't just do that anyway) i realise that the only risk they really pose is to themselves. Which does still worry me but hopefully they stay safe and sensible whilst away.

How long are they going for? If thye get malaria while abroad and they haven't taken the tablets or have had the vaccinations they may not be covered by their travel insurance. Some strains of malaria can show symptoms within a week or so I think.

There is a shortage of hep A at the moment. We can't get any in Scotland, nor typhoid.

malaria isn't transmittable without the mosquitos. You can't catch it off them in the UK.

same for dengue (No vaccine, no treatment), endemic in all tropical areas.

diphtheria and typhoid should have been done in childhood, although typhoid does wear off.

they are almost no risk to you unless sharing body fluids. They are stuffed if they do get any of these with no vaccines, as their travel insurance won't cover it.

far-flung places are not Benidorm with warm seas and cheap food. They are daft to say the least.

Yeep, yes they are daft. I have friends and met so many people who caught malaria for starters.

One friend was in hospital for 4 months and nearly died.

Another, bless her, got all her shots and took her malaria tablets in plenty of time then accidentally left them at home. She went to South America and was unable to get replacements and... got malaria. Luckily it was caught early and she didn't need to to be hospitalised.

When she first went to her doc for all the shots for S. America he said: 'What do you want all those for?' What a fuckwit. She just went on the NHS website and requested all the stuff for the various countries she was going to.