South America Prep Part 1: Vaccination

Beginning of this year, I've decided to quit my job and travel to South America for three months. At this stage in life, I am lost and don't know what to do so I choose to see the world. Someone once said school and work can be done in many stages in life yet travelling should be done at a young age so.... here we go!



To start the preparation work, first thing to do is... visit a travel clinic doctor!

Below information are only from my personal experience, please consult a professional for what is best for you :)

Protecting your health is the utmost important element for this trip and any trip. Health is the basic requirement for anything you do!

It is very important to visit the doctor far in advance to the departure date. I visited a local travel clinic about 5 weeks prior to departing the country. Remember to find the record of your immunization records, it would speed up the process and reduce uncertainty.The clinic doctor would be able to look are your medical history and recommend what is best for you.

Here's the immunization vaccinations I had to take:

1. Yellow Fever
• This vaccination protects you against yellow fever (mosquito born virus), which is common is many parts of South America. Be sure to tell your clinic where you plan to travel so it can be determined whether you need it or not. Some countries will require you to have the vaccination shot to enter the country if you are from certain yellow fever effected areas. You will be required to present the original yellow fever certificate provided by the clinic at border entry points. My suggestion is to staple it to your passport. If you are going to the Amazon, this is almost a guarantee must have. This immunization is expensive so I strongly recommend to know which parts of the continent you will be visiting before deciding on this shot. 
2. Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio
• This is a basic shot that everyone in Canada gets in childhood immunization program. I got an booster shot since its a long time since receiving the first does.
3. Measles/Mumps/Rebella
• This is also a basic shot for everyone in Canada. I received a booster shot to up the immunization.
4. Hepatitis A
• Some South America countries require Hep A injection within 6 months entering the country, check with the specific requirements with the countries you are visiting.
5. Hepatitis B Booster
• This is recommended to me by my clinic as I hadn't have the shot since birth immunization. They suggested to take a booster to be safe.
6. Vivotif for Typhoid
• Typhoid is a food and water born disease transferred by injection. This is an oral vaccination which is a continuation of one tablet every other day for 8 days with total of 4 tablets. It needs to be completed 2 weeks before departure and lasts for 4 years. Whether to take this immunization is optional for my trip but I decided to take it since I will be travelling alone.  
7. Dukoral for travellers Diarrhea and Cholera
• This is also optional. This is protection against Diarrhea (e.coli) for 3 months and Cholera for 2 years. Again, I chose to do this because I will be travelling solo. This vaccination must be completed a week before departure. Is it 1 tablet a week for 2 weeks. 
8. Meningitis
• This one is also optional. The vaccination lasts 10 years. People under 30 and elders are the categories under risk. This is again an expensive vaccine but the clinic recommended to take it if I am going to travel frequently and to share space with a wide variety of people. 

Additional prescriptions that I was given:

1.  Altitude sickness
• This is very common for travellers visiting places for example, Bolivia and Peru. This is an optional prescription but I took it just in case I was heavily effected by the altitude.
2. Malaria
• Malaria is also mosquito born virus and does not have vaccination. The prescription will need to be ingested before, during and after your time visiting the effected area (have a rough idea how long you will be in the effected zone). There are 3 kinds of medicine for Malaria, 2 of them potentially have side effects and I took the last one which has no side effects. Again, the choice is because it is a solo trip and I want to minimize the chance of weak mentality.

My experience with the travel clinic was long and extended. I had to travel 5 times to the clinic mainly because I had to obtain a record from province's immunization record office. If you have your record and know which areas you are visiting, then it would make the process much smoother. 

Coming up is preparation part 2 for plane tickets and travel insurance!