We have received several requests for information about vaccinations for travel abroad to be displayed online. Unfortunately there is no single website that provides this information to the standard required by the practice. There are some links reached from this page but they are not meant to enable you to decide your protection needs.

Our nurses receive weekly updates of requirements for most countries and we have several Internet links that we use for unusual itineraries. Where the recommendations from different sources vary, we contact specialist consultants to clarify the situation.

For registered patients, if it is possible to provide protection within NHS rules, we do not at present levy any additional charge even when we are allowed to do so. Increasingly exotic travel means that several vaccines are not available at NHS expense & have to be purchased privately. For these we will give you a private prescription and the pharmacist will charge you for the vaccine. Although we can charge for issuing private scripts for travel abroad and for the administration of some vaccines, we do not do so at present for registered patients. Those not registered with the practice will be charged our standard fee for administration of the vaccine at the time the prescription is supplied.

With regard to malaria protection we can also charge for issuing private scripts as the NHS does not cover malaria prevention. Once again we do not exercise our rights for registered patients. Patients also save as malaria prevention therapy is free of VAT when supplied against a private prescription.

 Our practice has been a designated Yellow Fever vaccination centre for many years. This means that we can arrange all travel vaccinations for anybody whether registered patients or not.

 If your travel itinerary indicates the need for a complex immunisation schedule, we may need up to 12 weeks to complete the schedule and some vaccines take time to become effective, e.g. up to 6 months for adequate protection against hepatitis B. As some procedures may not be acceptable to you, you should discuss your plans WELL BEFORE booking your travel. The same message applies to malaria prevention and any other common health matters not covered by usual immunisations.

 Your travel agent may well say no vaccines are required for your holiday but the agent may only be referring to no vaccines being a requirement for ENTRY TO the country you are visiting. Our advice is based on an assessment of the health risks related to your visit. If you can avoid some of those risks by immunisation it is wise to do so.

Always speak to one of our nurses BEFORE you book your holiday so that you can consider the health risks before deciding your itinerary. This is particularly important if you are pregnant. For example, flying whilst pregnant is acceptable within limits but you should avoid countries with a significant malaria risk. Pregnant women visiting the Gambia attract twice as many malaria carrying insects compared to non-pregnant women. So risk of malaria is higher but there is also a potential risk to the baby from antimalaria drugs. The best advice is not to visit such countries.

If you want to get a rough idea about likely requirements visit http://www.apmsd.co.uk and http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/ for further information.

Comprehensive tailor made health brief on premium rate number from Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad: (MASTA) 0906 822 4100 www.masta.org

Remember to arrange adequate comprehensive travel insurance.

Problems with passports for young children

The UK passport service has stringent rules which are not totally taken into account by the Post Office's Check and Send Service. Too white and too shiny are common rejections but since September 12th 2005 meeting the demand for full-face photographs with a neutral expression not displaying teeth has increasingly caused problems. 

Foreign travel can increase risk of sex infections, says study

Source: The Guardian Date: 23/07/2004
The Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, reports on a study by Karen Rogstad, a consultant in the department of genito-urinary medicine at the Royal Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield, which has found an 'alarming increase' in the number of sexually-transmitted infections in the UK - many of which occurred when patients were abroad. A large proportion of new HIV cases were from UK-born citizens who had contracted the virus on holiday. It is said that young people should be encouraged to go for a sexual health check when they returned from foreign travel. The study appeared as a paper in the British Medical Journal.