Questions asked by other travellers on Traveldoctor.

Malaria prophylaxis for Cambodia

What kind of malaria tablet should I take when going to Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Kratie, Siem Reap. Since I have had a very bad case of Guillain-Barre in 2007-2008, which paralysed me for six months, I am loathe to take any other vaccinations.

We recommend Malarone, which is effective and have few side effects.



Six months in Southeast Asia

I am going travelling for 6 months in February. I fly to delhi first & do Gap adventure trip ( Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Mumbai, Goa) then I go to Mumbai for 2 weeks & then fly to Bangkok, I plan on staying in Thailand for a months & doing Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam then possibly going over to Malaysia & Indonesia. 
Would I need hepatitis B vaccinations and what malaria tablets would you recommend for the places I am visiting? 
Would I need many different types? I have had Hep A, Typhoid injections in the past few weeks. I have had dyptheria, tetanus, Polio already.

Yes, we would definetely recomment that you receive a hepatitis B vaccination.

Concerning malaria, the risk is patchy and the best you can do is to search each single country on our website, and look at vthe malaria map at the bootom of the page.

If you follow this link:

http://www.traveldoctor.eu/trip/result.1.111.1.html

you will find our map of areas in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where we recoomend malaria prophylaxis. The map can be zoomed in and out and moved around.

We would suggest Malarone as the drug of choice. It is effective in all countries and has few side effects. It also need only to be taken 7 days after you left the area with risk of malaria.




Cruising in Asia and malaria pills

We are senior citizens and are going on a cruise in Jan 2011 which is stopping at Halong bay and for trips to Hanoi and also Bangkok.Do we need malaria pills as we have always been ill with them before

No, you do not need malaria pills visiting Hanoi and Bangkok.



Malaria in Cambodia

 I am planning a short trip to Cambodia (Siem Reap), Vietnam (Ha Noi) Laos (various rural areas) and Thailand (BK and one island). 

By the time of the trip I will be 4 months pregnant and I haven't had any vaccinations yet. 

I am wondering if 1) it is advisable to go; 2) it is possible to receive the necessary vaccinations; and 3) if anti-malarials will be needed/advisable at this stage.

Is it advisable to go? We almost never advise people to stay home. If the pregnancy has progressed completely without problems, we would not advice you to stay home.
In your case, you must avoid areas where malaria prophylaxis is recommended as none of the drugs that works in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia can be used in pregnancy. 

There are no available data indicating that vaccination against hepatitis A in pregnancy with the existing vaccines can harm the baby. It is important that you are protected against hepatitis A when you travel, and you should therefore be vaccinated.

From your description of your itinerary, we do not recommend malaria prophylaxis. There is no malaria in Hanoi and Siem Reab is also in the zone of Cambodia with a very limited risk. Concerning Laos, if you follow this link:

http://www.traveldoctor.info/trip/result.1.131.1.html

you will find a map at the bottom of the page of the areas in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam where we recommend malaria prophylaxis. You can zoom in and out of the map and move it around. 
Avoid these areas as we have no antimalaria tablets which can be used in pregnancy here.

Cruise from Hong Kong

what vacination precaution is necessary for far east cruise travels begin at hong kong for 18 days? scheduled for october

A vaccination against hepatitis A should be sufficient.



Cruise from India to Singapore

We are travelleing to Singapore for 10 days from India and planning to take a cruise to Phuket from Singapore for 3 days. Kindly advise if any vaccinations need to be taken.

We recommend a vaccination agaisnt hepatitis A.



Laos and Northern Thailand

We are currently planning a 2 week holiday to Laos and Northern Thailand travelling to the following places: Luang Prabang down to Huay Xai, along the Mekong and into Bokeo National Park and in Thailand Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai). 
We are currently trying for a family, and therefore I am keen to find out if I will need Malaria tablets will be required for this trip, as I understand that it is not safe to take this medication whilst pregnant. 
Can you also advise if there is any other medication that would be required for travel to this part of the world. Thought it would be best to ask these questions before booking the holiday.

We would not recommend malaria prophylaxis for the route you describe. Effective malaria prophylaxis is this part of the world can not be use when pregnant, so wait with that until you are out of areas with malaria.

If you follow this link:

http://www.traveldoctor.eu/trip/result.1.131.1.html

you will find a map of areas in Laos and Thailand showing where we recommend malaria tablets. The map can be moved and zoomed in and out so you can find your precise destinations.





Travel around Asia

I am going to travel around Asia...Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and making vaccinations now. 

I already done Hep A injection and now thinking about Diptheria, Tetanus, Typhoid and Japanese Encephalitis and worry if so many vaccinations could have bad affect to health in general?  Or what the time period is best to take in between them? 

And other question is I am very worry about Malaria situation in Cambodia and Laos and could that injection Japanese encephalitis protect? or I would need to take additonal medicaments as Delagil? And if it not too much to take tablets with all those vaccinations?

Your plan of immunizations is perfectly adequate except that we would suggest that you also get the vaccine against hepatitis B. There are scheduled intervals between vaccinations, usually 2 to 4 weeks, but it can be rather flexible depending on how much time you have.
vaccination against japanese encephalitis does not protect against malaria.

Chloroquine (Delagil) can not be used against malaria in Asia, the parasites are resistant. 

If you follow this link:

http://www.traveldoctor.eu/trip/result.1.131.1.html

you will find a map at the bottom of the page, showing which areas we recommend malaria prophylaxis with tablets in Laos and Cambodia. The map can be moved and zoomed in and out so you can focus on your particular destination.
Searching on the individual countries will also tell you which malaria tablets you can use in each country.





Asia and South America

Im travelling to vietnam, cambodia, malaysia, brazil and argentina and am unclear what immunistaions I require. I live in London. Please can you tell me what i require thanks

You would need to be immunized against hepatitis A and B, diphteria and tetanus and for South America yellow fever.

You may visit areas with a substantial risk af malaria, and you can look at malaria risk in each individual country by search our website and look at the malaria maps at the bottom of the search page.

For instance you find the maps for Vietnam and Cambodia here:

http://www.traveldoctor.eu/trip/result.1.111.1.html

and for Brazil here:

http://www.traveldoctor.eu/trip/result.6.165.1.html

You will find the maps at the bottom of the page. The maps can be moved and zoomed in and out so you can focus on your particular destination.



Thailand, Laos and Cambodia

Travelling Thailand - Bangkok, Chiang Rai,then Laos down Mekong to Luang Prabang, Vientiane, south through Laos to Cambodia -Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sianhoukville then back to Bangkok. Is it best to take malaria tablets (Malorone) for all of these places or if not where are the risk areas?

The risk of malaria is really only in Laos and Cambodia. In Laos outside Vientiane and Luang Prabang and in cambodia outside Phnom Penh.
Malarone will cover you in all these areas.





Cruising from Singapore to Vietnam

We are cruising for 21 days from Singapore stopping 1 day excursions to Sabah,Gaunzhou
Hong Kong, Vietnam.
Could you please advise on vaccinations required

We only recommend vaccination aganst infectious hepatitis.



Vaccinations for Hong Kong and Australia

Can you tell me if we require vaccines when travelling to Hong Kong and Perth, Australia. We will be there for a period of 3 weeks in all. Departure date is planned for beginning of March 2005

We only recommend vaccination against hepatitis A.



Malaria in Laos, Cambodia and India

We are two adults travelling in Asia. Right now we are in Chiang Mai (Thailand). We want to travel to the north area of Thailand (Tha Ton, Chiang Rai, Chiang Khong, the Golden Triangle) and then to Laos (Vientiane and Louang Phabang), Cambodia (Siem Reap - Ankor Wat), back to Thailand (Bangkok) and finally India (New Delhi, Mombay, Goa).
We expect to be in these areas for at least two months.
What anti malaria prophilaxis do you recomend us to take in this areas (Laos, Cambodia, India) and how long (how many months) should we take it before it can make us sick.

In Laos you can chose between Malarone, Lariam and Doxycycline in Cambodia only between Doxycycline and Malarone.
In India chloroquine and paludrine is still considered effective.
Malarone is the obvious choice in Laos and Cambodia as it is effective, with few side effects and you only need to take it one week after departure.
We would not recommend malaria prophylaxis to New Delhi, Mumbai (the city) and Goa. The risk is very low.
Malaria may be seen up to three years after return (Plasmodium vivax variety).



Malaria tablets in Southeast asia

I will be travelling to the following regions in Indonesia, and wish to know where I would need to take anti-malaria tablets:
Manado in Sulawesi
Borobudur Temple complex near Jogjakarta
Lake Toba, Gunung Leuser National Park
I will also travel to Indonesia for about 1 month and wish to know whether the following places have a risk of malaria:
Perhentian Islands
Taman Negara National Park, Melaka
In Thailand, is there risk in the north in the following ethnic village areas near the border of Myanmar:
Mae Hong Son
Pai
Chiang Mai

The only areas in Indonesia where malaria prophylaxis is not neeed is Jakarta and Bali.
In Thailand we we recommend malaria tablets (Malarone) to Pai and Mae Hong Song, but only if you are trekking the the area sleeping in villages on the way. Chaing Mai is too far north, and we do not recommend malaria tablets here.

You are also welcome to ask your own questions.