Dominican Republic

[Val G]

I am going on holiday to the Dominican Republic in 7 weeks. Does anyone know the of the immunisations etc required?

[Lesley Foster]

Try these sites, I have found them useful in the past.

http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/
or
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm

Lesley.

[Vic]

You'd need to make sure that everything such as tetanus / diphtheria was up to date. Additionally, you need Hep A, Typhoid, and BCG. Hep B is a good one to have too albeit not essential (one of the plus points to working the health service usually is having to be up to date with it as it takes several months) but if you've not had it I believe there is a fast track way of doing it these days but you might have to pay for that (Hep A, Typhoid and BCG should be free). Only worth considering getting the rabies vaccination if you're going to be so far off the beaten track that you're more than a day's travel from a hospital, it costs £100 and treatment is still needed if you get bitten.

You'll also need antimalarials - all come with their own predominant side effects, and it's a case of talking through with a nurse which one would be best for you (usually one of mefloquine, doxycycline, malarone or chloroquine&proguanil). I think the DR is chloroquine sensitive (a lot of the world is resistant) so you should be able to get away with the chloroquine and proguanil regime, which is one tablet every day and then an additional one once a week.

[Andrew MacLean]

Val

this sounds really exciting: have a wonderful trip

I found this on the www

Vaccinations:
Hepatitis A Recommended for all travelers

Typhoid For travelers who may eat or drink outside major restaurants and hotels

Hepatitis B For travelers who may have intimate contact with local residents, especially if visiting for more than 6 months

Rabies For travelers who may have direct contact with animals and may not have access to medical care

Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) Two doses recommended for all travelers born after 1956, if not previously given

Tetanus-diphtheria Revaccination recommended every 10 years

Once you've had all that, you'll need the holiday to recover!

Have a great trip!

Andrew