Vaccinations
 

Going to India soon: Mumbai, Bangalore, and New Delhi. Never thought of getting vaccinations with any of my travel (including mainland China) but a friend said I should consider it.

Any experience here?

Vaccines are not required, except Yellow Fever if you are foming from a known infected region. That being said, I believe I got a booster for Tetnus and a couple others that I don't remember off-hand. And I already had all my Hep shots.

You'll definitely want anti-malarial pills.

In response to your other thread about where to get them, try a Doc-in-a-Box place. You might need to call a couple to see if they have the vaccines but that's probably your best bet since you are going to be on the road for a while.

You won't need them.

No vaccinations required but make sure to take some anti "Delhi Belly" medication.

Drink only bottled water and try to avoid anything uncooked or cold and left around exposed.

Regarding fresh fruit eat fruit that you peel such as oranges & bananas (and grapes :D).

Take some tranquilizers to calm you down for road travel.

The vaccinations are generally good for long periods of time so why not get them?

Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid.

Along with your garden variety tetanus booster and a possible polio booster.

These would be available also at a county or city health department. If you are traveling for work your company may pay the bill (any amount over and above what your insurance pays).

Although technically not a vaccine, malaria prophylaxis is the one to consider whether it's worth doing or not. If you talk to Indians they will generally say not to bother. Keep talking to them and they will share their experiences with contracting malaria, however.

Upside: you won't get malaria
Downside: Doctor's appointment, expense, taking lots of pills, going crazy (Lariam)

As I recall, our doctor recommended Hep A and B, Typhoid and tetanus boosters. He also gave us scrip for Malarone -- an anti-malarial. Warning: my wife had a dramatic allergic reaction to the Malarone -- she broke out in hives and looked like she was wearing paisley tights. We found out later that the allergic reaction could have been potentially deadly. Fortunately, a very able local Indian doctor diagnosed the allergy and administered the appropriate antihistimines. If you're going to consider talking Malarone, test yourself well in advance of the trip.

Exactly -- especially if you are staying in decent places and eating and drinking from better establishments in the mentioned cities. Combine with a good insect repellant for Bombay year-round and/or for the other mentioned cities at select times of the year and that's sufficient for most visitors to India who aren't doing (or trying to do) the "budget" trip.

As previously pointed out, the Government of India will require Yellow Fever if coming from an endemic area. The question of whether you need the other vaccinations is more a matter of personal choice. If you are someone who generally believes in vaccination, then you should have the same set that you should have no matter where you live. Hep A and B, Typhoid/Diphteria, tetanus, MMR, polio, etc.

While the risk may be lower if you are careful where you stay and eat, the risk for many of these diseases is greater in India than the U. S. and Western Europe, simply because there is a much larger unvaccinated population (airborne and person-to-person contact diseases). For the food-borne diseases, again the risk is reduced by staying in decent places as GU Wonder suggests, but a risk still exists, just as it does in the United States and Western Europe. Hep B is recommended because it is recommended by many doctors now in the U.S. regardless of whether you are travelling or not.

If you are someone who is at greater risk from adverse reactions to vaccinations, then you might prefer not to get it.