At some point in their lives, most Australians will travel through Asia for a holiday or as a means to get to other nations, perhaps in Europe.
While in Australia it’s common practice to be vaccinated in childhood for things like Tetanus, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hep B and Polio, we don’t normally receive vaccination for Hep A and Typhoid.
While certain Naturopathic schools of thought strongly disparage the vaccination of children for various reasons, I cannot stress enough how important the basic vaccinations are. While there’s no point in being vaccinated for everything under the sun, for example chicken pox, which are not overly effective and the diseases aren’t generally life-threatening, it absolutely is important to be vaccinated when travelling to third world countries, or countries with sub-healthy water and food practices.
A great example is Vietnam, in fact I’m about to travel there myself in just under a week.
Hepatitis A is an acute viral infection causes by an RNA virus and can be difficult for poorly trained doctors to diagnose and even harder to treat, especially in third world conditions where medical treatment facilities are not very good. Death rates can be up to 17.5%, depending on various circumstances including the age of the person infected. Hepatitis A vaccination is not expensive but it’s very effective. It could save your life when travelling through Asia.
Typhoid is commonly called Typhoid Fever. It is caused by bacteria and is fairly common in under-developed Asian countries, especially in rural areas where utility services are not well developed or hygienic. Deaths in untreated cases is quite high, however if treated, death is unlikely. The problem here, is the treatment in third world countries. If treated in Australia, death is highly unlikely primarily because of the level of skill of our medical doctors and the quality of their equipment, tests and medical drugs. There are two effective vaccinations against Typhoid, so get it before you go anywhere in an affected country.
If you ever thought about refusing to be vaccinated for something like Hep A, Tetanus or Typhoid, I ask you what’s more important to you: having a purely naturopathic life, or actually continuing to live you life?
Get vaccinated. It will save your life.
