Yesterday I have been administered three recommended vaccines for travel to China by a health professional. The fourth was not necessary from Tick-borne encephalitis, but since I was going there and there is a threat of that in Lithuania, I’ve done that as well.
Table of Contents
Vaccine for China
The vaccines required for traveling to China may vary depending on various factors such as the length of stay, purpose of visit, and the current health situation. However, the following vaccines are commonly recommended for travelers to China:
- Routine Vaccinations: These include vaccines that are typically recommended for everyone, regardless of travel plans, such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and yearly flu shot.
- Hepatitis A: This vaccine is recommended for most travelers as hepatitis A can be transmitted through contaminated food or water in China.
- Typhoid: You may need a typhoid vaccine if you will be staying in rural areas or eating and drinking in areas with poor sanitation.
- Japanese Encephalitis: This vaccine is recommended for travelers spending a month or more in rural areas or for short-term travelers who may have extensive outdoor or nighttime exposure in endemic areas during the transmission season.
- Rabies: This vaccine is recommended for travelers who may come into contact with animals, such as through hiking, biking, or working in animal-related professions.
It is always best to consult with a healthcare professional.
I’ve got shots of Diphtheria, Typhoid, Tetanus and Hepatitis A+B. All of that cost 351Lt (~£90), since at the moment Endemik had 20% off (until 24th May). However, as a consequence today all my arms and legs hurt so much, since two injections were to the shoulders and two to the different sides of the groin. Feels like somebody has hit me hard and kicked me in the groin! Anyway, at least in China nothing will scare me: not some exotic disease or infection or having diarrhoea for a month.
It is up to you if you wish to get vaccinated for your travel, but you should definitely consult your health professional about that. Especially if you are a vulnerable person
On top of travel vaccines, I also needed to explore what prevention do I need for Malaria in China.
Malaria zones and prevention
I found this intuitive map of malaria zones in China.
One traveller recommended to get Malarone pills in the pharmacy and take them in malaria zones. They don’t have side-effects like other cheaper options (doxycycline and etc.), both will require prescription, but in my opinion long term antibiotics like doxycycline is more harmful and can cause more adverse effects to your body. Some anti-malarians can cause hallucinations, liver failure or even suicidal thoughts, so you have to be cautions and consult medical professional. Also not all antimalarials fit all the zones as malaria can be resistant to the drug, so you must consult with medical professionals that specialise in travel vaccination.
As it claims on the patient leaflet the adults should be taking 1 tablet per day and start 1-2 days before entering malaria zone and can take not longer than 28 days (apparently it is not very good for your liver and shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol). These tablets should be taken 7 days after leaving the malaria zone.
It is better to be safe than regret it later. I’ve heard malaria is really awful if you catch it and difficult to treat, so better to prevent it beforehand! Even though, when I arrived a health specialist in Sanya pharmacy said that you don’t need it in urban areas, just in the forests.
Apparently highly urbanised zones are safer due to pesticide use to control mosquitos, but all it takes one mosquito to contract it, so you have to make an informed decision either to take or not antimalarials.
Also checkout this post which vaccines you might need and this Researchgate page for malaria zones.
Always consult your pharmacist or GP before taking any medication as this medication might not be suitable for you or outdated.