jmvp

I am planning a month long trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

I will be in Hanoi, Ha Long Bay...then fly to Ho Chi Minh City for 3 days..
then


I will do an 8 day Mekong River Cruise up to Phnom Penh and on to Siem Reap in Cambodia,
Here I will tour almost all the Temples.

I will fly to Luang Prabang in Laos for a full 3 days...then onto Thailand but I will only be in Bangkok.

I am staying in 5 star hotels in all places and not going into any "jungle areas".

What vaccinations are needed for this trip in these locations.

I am up to date on all the need to have vaccines like Measles Mumps Tetanus, Hepatitis A and B
My Typhoid is good to the end of 2017.

No Yellow Fever is required.

How are the mosquitos? What other vaccinations did you get when you went to these places?

Thank You Very Much

Kathie

You have the recommended vaccines covered, but you should add the current flu vaccine.

Don't delude yourself that you will "will tour almost all the Temples" at Angkor. Do get a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples. This will help you prepare for your trip. I hope you have scheduled at least three full days in Siem Reap, as it takes three full days just to visit the major temples. If you are really interested in the temples, you will want more time. We spent a week there and didn't come close to seeing all of the accessible temples.

In my experience, mosquitoes vary with the time of year.

kja

I encourage you to see the CDC website and -- most importantly -- consult your physician.

jmvp

Thank You Kathie.

I should have said I will see the "Major" Temples as I know there are many .

I will have 3 days in Siem Reap and will have a private guide and transportation.

I will get the Flu Shot next week and will get some spray on mosquito repellent.

Going in December/ January

I would like to know what vaccinations other travellers to these areas decided to take.

I may or may not take anti marlaia medication .

Kathie

I got all of the vaccines you got before I went to Siem Reap. I also took anti-malarials (malarone) as malaria was still a risk in Siem Reap at the time. It is no longer a risk in Siem Reap, but is in more remote areas. Do talk with your personal physician about your travels and any other precautions s/he might recommend. For instance, my doctor always prescribes an antibiotic for me to take along just in case. If you read the physicians portion of the cdc webpages, you'll find that azythromycin is the currently recommended antibiotic for this area of the world.

I agree with kja that you should read the cdc webpages about not just vaccines, but also about food and water precautions and mosquito precautions to take. You might also want to consult the NHS website, FitForTravel. They have the best malarial risk maps on the web, IMO.

CaliforniaLady

Regarding the malarone (anti-malaria pills) that Kathie mentioned, you do not have to take them for the whole trip, just when you are in areas with malaria risk. Since you are going to be out a month, map out when you will be at risk, and start the pills a few days before you enter those areas, and a few days after you leave. Your doctor can help you set up a plan.

I prefer the lotion mosquito repellent rather than the spray. I have had many people spray the repellent near me, and I think it's quite obnoxious to do so. The lotion is less intrusive to other people, and has worked well for me.

Lolazahra

Please consult a travel physician, not just a GP. I always do for myself and my kids as they have more information based on the parts of an actual country you are visiting and can prescribe meds based on the exact timing of your trip. A GP often prescribes meds based on the entire country and not based on your exact locations and will often have folks start meds before they leave home and not in relation to the dates they will get to a specific place in a country. And Kathie is correct, they will go more in depth about water, sanitation,animals, farms and fields, etc. It is easy to look up a local travel or infectious disease doctor.

LancasterLad

I agree with Lolazahra. In UK the most recommended Travel Clinic is MASTA...

http://www.masta-travel-health.com

Gereral Practitioners usually don't have the necessary training in travel medicine.

MmePerdu

I have to say I visited a travel clinic once and found they had no more information than one can find online on sites like http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel, but charged a great deal more for it. They also tried to sell me some they admitted I may not need for the places I was going, "just in case". Some may be in the business of responsible medicine but I wouldn't bother for your very much on-the-beaten-path itinerary. My impression is that they're providing a retail niche service for those who are happy to overpay for services not covered by insurance and these "specialists" are completely unnecessary for the average traveler. The only reason I'd use one if you find you need a particular vaccination and can't find it anywhere else. Be prepared to pay dearly.

Kathie

In the US, any physician would consult the cdc webpages.

I'm afraid that MmePerdu is correct about commercial travel clinics in the US. I've heard of some recommending the Yellow Fever vaccine for someone headed to SE Asia - there in no Yellow Fever anywhere in Asia. The commercial travel clinics in the US are entirely oriented toward profit. You might find a good one, you might just find someone interested in selling you as many services as possible.

I always read the cdc pages thoroughly before visiting my physician, she pulls up the pages on her computer as well and we discuss what (if anything) I need for my trip. Since I travel every year to some place in the tropics, the most I might need is a booster for typhoid or a prescription for malarone or an antibiotic.

It used to be that medical school travel clinics were the best referral for those traveling, but many of those clinics have closed. My local pharmacy now sponsors a travel clinic. You might take a look at that option.

But whatever you do, read the cdc information so you can discuss it with your provider and make good decisions about any vaccines and any prophylactic medications.

jmvp

Thank You very much.

I meant to say Lotion repellent not spray, I never use spray anymore now.

I always wonder what others may have used.

I will also take Zithromax and Cipro and I always take Tamiflu, Lomotil, Imodium and ( injectable Gravol)

It's beginning to look like I do not need much except for mosquito protection.

I agree that Travel Vaccination centres act like a cash cow many times.

When I went to South American for a month , they tied to sell me everything under the sun.!

When I was in Africa ( Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzabar) I only

took Malarone but never used it.

My guide was more afraid of tsetse flies.

I will scan all the links you gave me and see if I should do anything else as there is no need of

going to a Travel Clinic and saying " What vaccines do I need for Cambodia . Laos and Vietnam"?....

I have been down that road before.

Thank You everyone and I will be checking this thread daily.

Lolazahra

My experience has been very different. I attend a travel clinic in a well known hospital in New York that has an adult and pediatric clinic. I have been going since the days I worked for UNICEF. They never give anything you do not need, which I find non travel or infectious disease doctors do with abandon. While I only post my vacation travel on Fodors, for work I travel deep into developing nations with every type of infectious disease possible and I would never leave it up to my regular physician (who I adore) to prescribe my meds or give me shots. But to each their own.

Lolazahra

And of course, check to see which malaria med is right for the areas of the country you will be in. I usually give my children one type of malaria meds when we are traveling in parts of Africa where I work and they have never had an issue. But when my oldest child traveled to Northern Thailand this summer that one med was resistant and she had to take the other one. Thankfully she was fine, but it was of course good to know. Again, good luck!

Kathie

Lolazahra, I'm glad you have a good travel clinic in New York. I think that is especially important when you are traveling with children.

CaliforniaLady

Lolazahra, I believe the situation with travel clinics vary vastly by region. Kathie, MmePerdu, and I are all on the west coast, and I have also found that the for-profit travel clinics out here are a rip-off, and the only other alternative is clinics run by local cities. That's great that your local hospital has an excellent travel clinic. However, the life lesson, as Kathie pointed out, is to educate yourself from the CDC website, so that you can ask questions and make a proper decision.

MmePerdu

Emphasis on "good". I don't believe most are that.

kja

I have been extremely pleased with my travel medicine clinic, which is part of a medical school in DC and part of the same medical network that includes my primary physician (and that uses shared medical records). And my health insurance has, so far, paid for all the recommended treatments -- vaccinations, other preventive treatments, if-needed treatments -- and the cost of the appointments themselves. From what some of you are saying, I must be very fortunate, indeed.

Lolazahra

Totally agree with Kathie re: the CDC. It should be a must first stop for every traveler. kja, you are indeed fortunate with the network connection of your primary, travel doc and insurance. That's awesome!

yestravel

Kja, would you mind sharing where you go in DC? Thanks

kja

@ yestravel: I go to the The Division of Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine at the Georgetown University Medical Center. Of course, what you would pay and what would be covered depends on your particular insurance.