Question Vaccines for Indonesia

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I should add that my friend is Brazillian-the country with the highest incidence of Dengue. While she said she'd never had it before, she simply might have not known if she did. If she did, she'd be particularly vulnerable in the case of reinfection (particularly from a different serotype). That could explain the severity of her symptoms. I mention this to contextualize the story. Also, DHF is a small percentage of Dengue cases.
 
Make sure you're current on all the standard vaccines. These days for kids born in the US, that's going to be things like polio, measles, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. Us older folks had to get the hepA and hepB shots later in life. If you're old enough, you might want to get another measles shot. Apparently they're finding they almost last a lifetime, but not quite. Or at least the versions given in the late 1960's and early 1970's had issues. Hence only us old people get the late-life "booster"

I got the Japanese encephalitis series a couple years ago, but where I was staying it likely wasn't a risk. I think that's good for life.

I didn't do malaria meds on my last visit (a month ago, north Bali), because there aren't a lot of mosquitoes where I stay and it was dry season. Note that it's rare for folks to be prescribed things like chloroquine (or other quinine-derivatives) these days because of psychological effects. Last I heard, they won't prescribe to people under 25 because it causes suicidal ideations. (I used to take it, starting at around age 27. Gave me weird dreams and made me acutely aware of my own mortality.) These days if I take it at all it's one of the antibiotics (can't recall which) that also provides malaria resistance.

I always to typhoid. The last time I got it I can't recall, but I know coming out of the COVID pandemic they only had the shot (good for 2 years) and not the pills (good for 5 years). I think I took the pills last November, so was still good for that. (Or else the shot; either way I was covered.)

Rabies vaccines are incredible expensive and you're likely to know if you've been bit or scratched by a mammal that carries rabies. I've heard (check with your doctor) that only folks who expect to be around and handling animals that carry rabies should get the shot.

A little off topic, but if you're "of an age" and had chicken pox as a child, you might want to do the shingles series. My brother in law got shingles a day before flying to Hawai'i for vacation with us. That was no fun for him, though he survived....
 

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