Hep A? Typhoid?

[Diver0001]

My husband went to the travel clinic today to get a prescription for anti-malarials for our upcoming trip to Roatan next month.

He left with his Malarone prescription, but also a Hep A and Typhoid vaccination.

He's the type of guy that just goes along with what the doctor says, but having read a lot of SB and other travel forums, I've never heard of needing this vaccinations for Roatan, so I am skeptical.

Has anyone else gotten these? Can I pick these diseases up if we're staying at Cocoview for a week maybe venturing off the resort once or twice?

Thanks! I'm heading to the clinic and would love to learn more before I decide whether or not to get the shots.

I live in the Netherlands and the local health people here recommend Hep-A/B and Typhoid, as well as the usual array of things you would expect in the tropics.

R..

 

[Brodydog]

My husband went to the travel clinic today to get a prescription for anti-malarials for our upcoming trip to Roatan next month.

He left with his Malarone prescription, but also a Hep A and Typhoid vaccination.

He's the type of guy that just goes along with what the doctor says, but having read a lot of SB and other travel forums, I've never heard of needing this vaccinations for Roatan, so I am skeptical.

Has anyone else gotten these? Can I pick these diseases up if we're staying at Cocoview for a week maybe venturing off the resort once or twice?

Thanks! I'm heading to the clinic and would love to learn more before I decide whether or not to get the shots.

Yes, you should get both the Hep A and Typhoid vaccine even if you are only going for a week. Why take the risk? I got both vaccines before I went to Roatan and had no problems with either. I took the oral form of the typhoid vaccine because, as someone else said, it lasts longer than the shot form and heck, I would rather swallow pills than a get another shot.

The CDC recommends both of these vaccines when traveling to Honduras Health Information for Travelers to Honduras - Travelers' Health - CDC

and this will give you some info on both forms of the typhoid vaccine Typhoid Fever | Vaccines.gov You can also look at Hep A info on that website.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Maybe a minor point for you wealthy divers, but these vaccinations are typically not cheap in the U.S., so while I can appreciate all the "why not?--can't hurt" comments, it makes sense for many of us to weigh the risks against the cost. One can respond "what's your health worth?" but I tend toward a weighing-the-risks approach rather than an expensive "abundance of caution" approach on most health and safety issues. If I were going to a resort for a week, I might not get the whole array of vaccinations. I happen to have most of the ones mentioned here--hep A and B, dip-tet, typhoid, and even Yellow Fever, but I got them a few at a time, in response to specific recommendations for specific countries on the CDC web site and my plans for my time in the country. But if you don't mind spending a few hundred bucks on vaccinations, then have at it.

 

[Tigerman]

Or rather than asking what your health is worth, how about asking what its worth to not be spending your vacation in your hotel room or a hospital, racking up a medical bill while NOT getting to enjoyed the vacation youve also paid for?
Hep A cost what? $2-300 USD in total?
Typhoid like $50?

You can probably get them as combination shots as well.

Meh..

 

[DandyDon]

I consider the Hep-A & Hep-B vaccinations good ideas even for living in the states, along with the usual.

I've never done the typhoid shot, and won't for a tourist area in the Caribbean & Latin America.

 

[tracydr]

I also got Yellow Fever vaccine, either for Africa or Nicauragua. I really can't remember which trip it was for. Again, check the CBC website to make sure you have all the shots recommended for whatever country you will be visiting!
Yellow Fever and Typhoid, along with Hep A and Hep B were both given to me in the Army. I needed booster shots on typhoid and yellow fever for my traveling. The Hepatitis vaccines are a one time good deal, although its a good idea to get titers for the Hep B because some people don't always respond the first time they are vaccinated.
i used to run the Army vaccine program for the III Corps Artillery, along with a lot of other things. Anthrax shots were a huge deal. I was the III Corps Artillery Surgeon for 4 years.

 

[dmoore19]

I would check with the public health office for the price on the shots. I know I checked at my doctor's office and it IIRC it was 2-3 times the cost from public health. I was thinking it cost around $100 for A, B and typhoid shots, but that was 4 or 5 years ago so I could be mistaken. I got A, typhoid and the first B all at once, then a few months later I got the 2nd B shot. I was offered the pills for typhoid but the cost was higher than the shot IIRC. I also got and took the antimalaria meds. These were for my 1st trip to Roatan.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Or rather than asking what your health is worth, how about asking what its worth to not be spending your vacation in your hotel room or a hospital, racking up a medical bill while NOT getting to enjoyed the vacation youve also paid for?
Hep A cost what? $2-300 USD in total?
Typhoid like $50?

You can probably get them as combination shots as well.

Meh..

I do a lot of traveling--not just for diving--and I've shopped around as I've tried to keep my vaccinations/boosters up to date, gotten anti-malarials suitable for my destination, etc. The travel clinics in Atlanta that specialize in this sort of thing all charge a couple hundred dollars for your standard array of jabs for the tropics, and some of those anti-malarials are pricey, too. And double the total for my wife and me. My general practitioner doesn't have these vaccinations on hand and would charge at least as much. Friends who work at the CDC didn't have any recommendations for getting them on the cheap--I'm not aware of any sort of "public health" program that provides vaccinations for would-be tourists. Recently, I found a place that specializes in flight physicals for airline pilots, in a little hole-in-the-wall office in a grungy part of town near the airport, and their prices are somewhat lower than the more well known travel clinics. But it's still far from chump change for me. Your wallet may differ from mine.

If I took every conceivable precaution, bought full insurance, etc., for all of my trips, I wouldn't be able to afford to travel as much. So, as I said, I weigh the costs against the risks as best as I can perceive them. Of course, I also have been fortunate to have been able to ask my CDC doc friends what they really think the risk is for the particular part of the particular country I'm visiting.

I'm in no way trying to discourage anyone from taking whatever precautions. I just wanted to mention that the costs do carry some weight in my own decisions.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm not aware of any sort of "public health" program that provides vaccinations for would-be tourists.

I got my Hep-A, Hep-B, last Tetnus+, last pneumonia, etc. at County Health Dept. Call or write yours and ask what they charge for such: Featured News
[TABLE="align: left"]
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[TD]Customer Service[/TD]
[TD]404-612-4000[/TD]
[TD] customer.service@fultoncountyga.gov[/TD]
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[Lorenzoid]

I got my Hep-A, Hep-B, last Tetnus+, last pneumonia, etc. at County Health Dept. Call or write yours and ask what they charge for such: Featured News
[TABLE="align: left"]
[TR]
[TD]Customer Service
[/TD]
[TD]404-612-4000
[/TD]
[TD]customer.service@fultoncountyga.gov
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Thanks for the info! I had no idea my county health department did more than inspect restaurants. Apparently my tax dollars subsidize immunizations, too--or at least the county doesn't gouge people the way so-called "travel clinics" do. My wife and I spent something like $600 for our immunizations and a large bottle of malaria pills at travel clinic this past April or May--and that was after shopping around the three or four places in town that advertised themselves as "travel clinics." I could have saved a few bucks by using the county system, which I found out today charges the following:

Office visit: $50 (required fee)
Hep A: $43
Hep B: $28 (or Hep A and B together for a discount)
Typhoid: $43
Tet booster: $10
Yellow Fever: 75
Rx for anti-malarials: $5