Holiday vaccinations

Posted on 10 December 2014

Dr Marcus Brauer & Associates is an occupational medicine, travel clinic and general practice, linked to Mediclinic and based at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. We asked Dr Brauer for his advice on the injections or medications you’ll need if you’re travelling abroad…

1. What are the most common vaccinations required for travel overseas?
The recommendations we make are personalised for every traveller’s specific risk profile and trip. We generally consider vaccinations to either be compulsory for a trip or recommended for travel. For example, compulsory vaccinations include yellow fever and meningitis for pilgrims going to Mecca on the Hajj. Recommended vaccinations against commonly acquired food-and-water-transmitted illnesses include hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera and polio, as well as droplet-transmitted infections such as diptheria, pneumococcal bacteria, whooping cough and meningitis, and other vaccinations such as hepatitis B and rabies.

2. How do you find out which destinations require which vaccinations or medical interventions, like pills for malaria?
Your closest travel clinic will be the most suitable destination to obtain customised advice for your trip. To find it, go to www.sastm.org.za which lists travel clinics who are members of the South African Society of Travel Medicine. The staff of these clinics are well informed and advise travellers on a daily basis and are used to dealing with the specifics of travel related health issues.

3. Do any of the vaccines/medications required for travel have unpleasant side effects?
In my experience, the majority of travellers experience no significant side effects after they’ve been vaccinated. The most commonly reported side effects are mild tenderness at the site of the vaccination which may last one to two days. Rarely, clients say that they felt a bit tired for a few days and may have experienced a mild headache, fever or muscle ache – similar to a very mild cold but these symptoms, if they do occur, usually abate within a few days. The benefits of the protection offered by the vaccinations certainly outweighs the mild side effects that can sometimes occur.

4. In terms of budgeting for your holiday, what’s the cost of these vaccinations and will those costs be covered by medical aid?
Travel clinics will ask you to settle directly for the consultation and vaccinations, but will issue you with a detailed invoice, which you can claim back from your medical aid. You will then be reimbursed according to the rules governing your medical aid and your benefit option. Travel consultation costs usually range from approximately R300 to R2 000, depending on the number of vaccinations required and the malaria preventative medication chosen.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.