Bug-by-bug guide

Our guide to vaccination requirements for the common travel bugs.

Use this guide for starters. But be aware that vaccination recommendations can change. For regularly updated reports on what vaccinations are recommended in a particular country see these websites:

• www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk
• www.traveldoctor.co.nz

Hepatitis A

• Where: Worldwide; but more common where sanitary conditions are poor
• Details: Hepatitis A is spread through contaminated food and water. It causes liver inflammation and jaundice. You should consider innoculation if good hygiene is going to prove difficult. The Hepatitis A jab is often combined with a typhoid jab.
• Cost: $95 each for a two-jab course.

Hepatitis B

• Where: Worldwide; but more common in developing countries
• Details: Hepatitis B is transmitted through infected blood, contaminated needles and sexual intercourse. It affects the liver, causing jaundice and occasionally liver failure. All travellers should consider this vaccine.
• Cost: $32 each for a three-jab course.

Japanese B encephalitis

• Where: Asia
• Details: Japanese B encephalitis is spread by mosquitoes. It's a serious infection of the brain. We recommend vaccination if you're travelling to a high-risk area for a long time - you won't be able to avoid mosquito bites.
• Cost: $125 each for a three-jab course.

Malaria

• Where: Endemic in many parts of South and Central America; throughout Africa; throughout central and South-East Asia; and parts of the Pacific (Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu). The geographic distribution of malaria is constantly changing - be sure to check country reports (available online) before leaving.
• Details: Malaria kills around 1.3 million people a year and is spread by mosquitoes. There's no vaccination for it.
  
  The first measure is to avoid mosquito bites. Cover up at dusk with full-length clothing and wear insect repellent. We recommend insect repellents that contain 30 percent diethyl toluamide (DEET). You should also consider sleeping beneath a permethrin-impregnated mosquito net. Both the net and the repellent are available from travel health specialists and some outdoor stores.
  
  Anti-malarial drugs are prescribed by GPs and travel health specialists. It's important to organise anti-malaria drugs early in your travel preparations. Different brands have different side-effects, so you'll need to investigate a suitable course. The most commonly prescribed anti-malarial courses in New Zealand are mefloquine, doxycycline, and malarone

Meningococcal

• Where: Worldwide; especially in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Details: Meningococcal is spread by person-to-person contact (for example, sneezing or kissing). The risk of infection decreases with age - children and young adults are the most susceptible. Meningococcal meningitis has a sudden onset of intense headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck and light sensitivity. The disease is fatal in up to 10 percent of cases.
• Cost: $50

Rabies

• Where: Africa, Asia (especially India and China), and the Americas
• Details: Rabies is spread by an infected animal biting you, or licking your broken skin. It's always fatal. You should be vaccinated if you're going to a high-risk area away from a reliable source of vaccine. Rabies can lie dormant for months or even years - so while you need to seek urgent medical treatment after a bite; it may not be too late to receive treatment a few months later. There is currently a shortage of rabies treatment worldwide so travellers should discuss pre-travel vaccines, especially for children.
• Cost: $60 each for a three-jab course six weeks before departure (only available at travel health clinics); or $140 each for a three-jab course three weeks before departure.

Tetanus/diphtheria

• Where: Worldwide
• Details: Tetanus is contracted through dirty cuts and scratches or contaminated food and water. It's a serious infection of the nervous system. Diphtheria is spread by an infected person coughing, sneezing, or breathing on another. It's an infection of the upper respiratory tract (the throat and nose).
• Cost: The combined tetanus/diphtheria jab is $10.

Typhoid

• Where: High risk in North and West Africa, South Asia, and Peru. Common wherever sanitary conditions are poor.
• Details: Typhoid is spread through contaminated food or water. Pollution of water sources may produce epidemics of typhoid fever. Vaccination is often combined with the Hepatitis A jab.
• Cost: $55

Yellow fever

• Where: Tropical areas of Africa and South America
• Details: Yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes. For most people, yellow fever results in fever, muscular pain, headache, chills, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. Yellow fever is fatal in rare instances. Some countries require a yellow fever certificate as a condition of entry.
• Cost: $70 - not all GPs are authorised to give yellow fever jabs.