One of the most important aspects of a twelve month around the world adventure that includes a significant amount of time in Southeast Asia are vaccines.  An outbreak of yellow fever, malaria or any number of other diseases can force you to alter your plans, land you in a foreign hospital or require evacuation back to your native country.

Last week I had a consultation at a travel clinic associated with Middlesex Hospital.  This was the same clinic I went to for vaccines prior to my trip to South America earlier in the summer.  At that appointment they gave me a list of vaccines the clinic administers and the price of each.  Luckily, for South America I did not need many vaccines as I wasn’t spending time in the Amazon.  Nonetheless I was amazed at the price of a number of the vaccinations (most notably rabies and encephalitis).

As I entered the examination room this time around, the nurse provided me a packet of paperwork that included maps of each destination country and possible diseases that I could contract while there.  As I waited for the doctor, I skimmed thru the maps and quickly calculated the amount I would be charged if inoculated for every possible disease.  It easily amounted to $700-$800.  For $800, I could buy four weeks worth of hostel accommodations in India, purchase short flights throughout Southeast Asia and acquire a month long bus pass for New Zealand.  But, I’d have to hand over $800 for vaccines alone.

The doctor entered and we recognized each other from my prior consultation for South America.  He asked me about that trip and then the conversation turned to my year-long adventure.  He inquired about my plan to purify water if I didn’t want to buy bottled water in every country.  I told him about the Sawyer Squeeze water purifier I intended to bring; he liked that idea and recommended the UV purifier as well.  Next, he instructed me to stay away from leafy greens, like lettuce, and ice that was not made from purified water.

We then flipped open the aforementioned maps and discussed each country and what I could expect there and precautions to limit my exposure to potential diseases.  For mosquito-borne illnesses, he urged me to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when possible and use bug spray with a DEET concentration of 25-35%.  He also prescribed pills to limit my exposure to malaria.  After looking at my itinerary in each country, he estimated 70 malaria pills would suffice.  My mind immediately shifted to airport security and their reaction to someone with such a large quantity of pills.

“Sir, I swear I’m not a drug mule, these were prescribed to me…”

Surprisingly, outside of the malaria pills and a new meningitis vaccine, he did not recommend any new inoculations.  My Hepatitis A and B vaccinations were up to date and he did not see the need for me to get the rabies or yellow fever vaccine.  I managed to leave the travel clinic after spending only $139…that’s a lot less than the expected $800.