Travel Medicine

Travel Medicine & Vaccination

People travel for various reasons including work, holiday, family visits & adventure.

Our doctors at Vermont Health Care are able to provide counselling and appropriate advice in regards to all aspects of travel medicine. We take into account your travel itinerary including risk areas, accommodation, activities whilst travelling, past medical history, allergies and recommend the appropriate and necessary vaccinations and/or medications required for your trip.

The most common vaccinations prescribed are usually the Hepatitis A and the Typhoid Vaccine. Hepatitis A & Typhoid are diseases acquired from contaminated food and water sources. These are most common in developing countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia (Bali included). The Typhoid vaccine is effective for 3 years and the Hepatitis A vaccine confers lifetime immunity provided a booster was given within the recommended time (6 months).

Please allow a 15-30 minute appointment depending on the complexity of your itinerary and bring along your previous vaccination record if possible. Depending on your individual requirements, we ask that you budget between $200- $500 for your vaccinations. This includes the cost of the consultation which is included in our fee schedule. Some private health insurance groups may also provide a partial rebate on the cost of your vaccines so do check with them.

After vaccination, we advise that you remain on our premises for 15 minutes.

Yellow Fever

Yellow fever is caused by a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. It is particularly prevalent in Africa and South America.  Various countries have their respective requirements in regards to visitors having been in endemic areas.

Travellers arriving in Australia who have visited an endemic area within the last 6 days, will need a current WHO certificate. Because of strict international requirements, only yellow fever accredited clinics are allowed to provide the vaccination and certificate.

The  vaccine provides a 10 year immunity to the virus.

Please inform our receptionist if you think you may require yellow fever vaccination.

Malaria

Malaria is caused by a parasite that is spread by mosquitoes. It is prevalent in many areas throughout Asia, South America, Africa etc. Prevention of malaria requires individual counselling as the medication prescribed depends on a variety of factors including length of stay in the risk area, general health and occupational factors.

Influenza

There has been a recent outbreak in the last year of Influenza H7N9 (Bird flu) in various parts of China including Hong Kong and Taiwan. The current flu vaccine does not cover this strain so we advise good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, avoidance of contact with poultry & pigs (dead or alive) and eating food that is well cooked and served hot.

The current flu vaccine will cover other strains that were recently seen in the Northern Hemisphere and includes the H1N1 pandemic strain. Travellers are still advised to have this as close contact during flight increases the chance of infection.