Spring is typically the point when the first preparations for a holiday in the summer start to get made, and one of the first and most important visits you should make is to a pharmacy that specialises in travel health services.
If you plan on going on a summer holiday this year, it is vital that you not only pack sufficient suncream, dress for your destination and have all of your documentation ahead of time, but that you also have any particular vaccines you need to protect yourself at your destination.
Whether you are going for a summer getaway, travelling to the World Cup or seeing friends and family, checking for any travel precautions you need to make is vital, and your local travel pharmacy can help provide you with up-to-date travel advice relevant to your itinerary.
However, there are some vaccines that are more commonly needed than others, either due to their prevalence in some popular tourist destinations or because the effects of the disease are so strong that it is unwise to not take precautions. Here are some of the most important.
When Do You Need A Rabies Vaccination?
One of the most important diseases to be vaccinated against is rabies, not just because it can be common in Asia, Africa and South America if you step off the beaten track, but because it is an extremely serious illness that can and does kill if left untreated.
Rabies is caused by a bite, scratch or lick by an infected animal, but it typically takes a few weeks for symptoms to appear. Unfortunately, when they do, the disease is almost always fatal, with just six people surviving without rabies-specific therapy throughout medical history.
For context, the World Health Organisation estimated that at least 59,000 people a year die from rabies and 29 million people receive the vaccine.
Because of this, it is best to err on the side of caution; if you are travelling to a country where rabies is not uncommon, taking the vaccine will keep you safe and increase the effectiveness of post-exposure prophylaxis in the event that you are exposed to a rabid animal.
When Do You Need A Hepatitis Vaccination?
By contrast, Hepatitis A is nowhere near as fatal, but it is far more common and being unvaccinated can leave you at risk when travelling of contracting a disease that can change your life for several months.
Rather famously, boxing champion Evander Holyfield contracted Hepatitis A from tainted seafood before a notable boxing match, and he had characteristic flu-like symptoms during that fight.
Hepatitis A spreads through water tainted with infected bodily waste, which means that unclean water, food washed or grown in said water, eating food handled with someone who is infected, close physical contact or eating fish or shellfish that swim in infected water can create the risk of hepatitis.
It can clear up on its own in six months, but it is not a particularly pleasant recovery; you are infectious for a week after symptoms emerge, and prevention is often far better than cure.