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Vaccinations for Japan and China and What Foods to Avoid

Vaccinations for Japan and China and What Foods to Avoid

Old Jul 6th, 2012, 08:34 AM
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Vaccinations for Japan and China and What Foods to Avoid

Hello Everyone!

I will be travelling from the U.S. to Asia for the first time in September, and I will be there for a month. I will be visiting Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Izu Peninsula) and China (Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an). I want to make sure that I get all of the vaccinations that I need, and that I start them early enough before I leave for my trip.

Based on my online research, I have listed the vaccinations that are relevant to the regions. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences on which to get and when to get them:

Tetanus-diphtheria (DPT)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Typhoid
Japanese Encephalitis
Tick-borne Encephalitis
Rabies
Cholera
Yellow Fever

Also, what are your thoughts on eating food from street vendors? I was considering getting street food while in Tokyo (and elsewhere in Japan) some of the days; is this dangerous? How about street food in China?

Should I avoid raw (and possibly unwashed) fruits and vegetables in both Japan and China? Are there any other foods I should not eat while I am there? Are there any concerns with the sushi?

Should I avoid drinking tap water and stick to bottled water in both countries?

Thank you in advance for your responses!
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 08:52 AM
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I can speak to China only. Yes, avoid tap water - always drink bottled or boiled water. Restaurants often serve hot tea or hot water, which is ok. Also buy bottled water from trustworthy places as I've heard street vendors often find empty bottles and fill them up from the tap and sell them. Make sure the seals are intact.

Food to avoid - be careful whenever you eat from street vendors like those pushing a cart (avoid if possible). Most Western chain hotels with a familiar name are clean enough when it comes to food that they serve up in breakfast buffets. I've eaten salads with no problem. Fruits that you peel off the outer skin are always fine. It'd be crazy to not wash other fruits due to dust and dirt. Wash or wipe with bottled water to be safe (although I've used tap and just wipe off the excess with tissues and it was fine).

Just use common sense... if it's not steaming hot when it should be, then avoid it. If it looks suspicious, just leave it.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 09:07 AM
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Yipes! You have quite a list of vaccines there, some of which are completely inappropriate. The cdc website is an excellent source of information: www.cdc.gov/travel

Everyone should have Diptheria/Tetanus whether they are traveling or not. Likewise, Hep A. Hep B - your chouce (it's a blood-borne pathogen), but if you can get the Hep A/Hep B combo vaccine, go ahead and get it. Typhoid is wise for China.

Japanese Encephalitis - no.
Tick-borne Encephalitis - no.
Rabies - no.
Cholera - no.
Yellow Fever - no.

The other vaccines you should have are any necessary boosters for measles/mumps/rubella.

Print out the recommendations from the cdc and take with with you when you visit your travel medicine professional. If you go to a clinic and they recommend something really inappropriate, like Yellow Fever (there is no yellow fever in Asia) or Cholera (only recommended in limited circumstances for refugee workers, etc) - leave and go to another clinic. In some places public health clinics offer travel vaccines.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 09:38 AM
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In many ways that you've asked about, Japan is a polar opposite to China.

In Japanese cities, tap water is completely fine, and it's what virtually everyone drinks. I have a sensitive digestive system and have never had an issue with tap water in Japan. Street vendors are not as plentiful in Japan as in China and elsewhere in east/southeast Asia. That said, Japan probably has the highest standard of cleanliness of any country in the world, and there's nothing that would concern me about eating raw fruits and vegetables. Sushi is always ok, even when prepackaged for sale in convenience stores. If you're looking for inexpensive sushi, though, you're far better off going to a decent conveyor sushi place or buying packaged sushi from one of the many department store food halls.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 02:07 PM
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Your list is way too long. Make sure you update the basic stuf like hep A & B. You are visting major modern cities, not going in the jungle. Other than not drinking tap water, everything is fine. Street food is quite good, it's just that your stomach may not be used to it. Actually, the good thing about street food is that they cook it in front of you. Gotta have chuan'r in Beijing. you won't find street food in Shanghai. Fruits and veggies are fine (raw) i have salad all the time and buy fruits and veggies every day at the supermarket and never been sick in 3 years.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 06:05 PM
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anyone that knows where to get street food in tokyo, pls post it here, so i can try it next time i'm there. domo.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 06:23 PM
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While I don't know where in the OP lives in the US, the short answer to the origin question is that he/she should think about vaccinations he/she need while at home. The risk of catching something in Japan and the cities of China is really no higher than most metropolitans in the US.

[Now, if he/she lives in rural America and doesn't go to the cities, then it's different.]
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 06:50 PM
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I suggest flu vaccinations, h1n1, h5n1 etc...
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 07:34 PM
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Good point about the flu vaccine.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 08:28 PM
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We love the street food in Tokyo. Here's a great piece from the Guardian about where to go, although we've had great luck at ramdom places as well. No issues with cleanliness.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...od-kyoto-tokyo

We ate at several of the ramen places near the Tsukiji fish market - yum! And Mr. Crosscheck is a big fan of Piss Alley. To order, just point to the plastic food or to what someone else is eating.
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 09:00 PM
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Crosscheck "Piss Alley"???
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 09:01 PM
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Oh OK I just googled "Piss Alley" so I understand now!
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Old Jul 6th, 2012, 10:58 PM
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Haha, not the most appetizing name for a street food venue - The city is trying to rebrand it as Memory Lane, but it apparently has not caught on yet.
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 02:48 AM
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I wouldn't think that flu vaccine would be useful for a September trip.
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 06:08 AM
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Don, the flu is becoming less seasonal. By Sept, the annual flu vaccine has been formulated, so there is no harm in getting it "early" from the perspective of North America. Southern China is the cradle of new flu strains, and the flu tends to spread first in China and VN.

Ray's point about you only need the vaccines for China and Japan that you need at home is mostly true - the one exception is typhoid.
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 06:31 AM
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Swine flu, or h1n1, timeline for the year 2009: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic_timeline
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 07:08 AM
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@Kathie "...China is the cradle of new flu strains, and the flu tends to spread first in China and VN..." Really? There was no issue with H1N1 in China unlike most western countries. The OP is not going to southern China in any case.
Ultimately, a traveler should get medical advice from a doctor (not one that makes money selling shots) not from the internet on a travel forum.
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 07:17 AM
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Kathie did suggest to the OP to check with the CDC. Southern China and VN was the cradle of the then new h5n1 virus was it not?
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 10:27 AM
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JPD, yes, Southern China is the area from which most new flu strains originate. It has to do with the mixing of flu viruses from pigs and birds and the leap to humans. Read the epidemiology research if you are interested in more detail.

I always suggest that people look at the cdc info and print it out and take it along to the appointment (in the US your doctor would look at that to determine what you need). Absolutely one should get medical advice from a medical professional. A forum like this can offer pesoanl experience and information point people in the right direction for more info.
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Old Jul 7th, 2012, 05:34 PM
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There are few cases of H5N1 infecting humans, and the yearly vaccines in N. America likely does not protect against it anyways. Few people in HK get flu shots anyways. It is not a major problem for residents or visitors alike.
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