meningitis, typhoid, and hepatitis A

We had heard that India has a large needle recycling program, so we brought our own supply of clean, sealed new ones with us on our last trip. Vaccines in Canada aren't usually that expensive (although anti-malarials can be) and often your employer's drug plan will cover them. We didn't check into vaccines when we were there but a $40.00 prescription for Cipro is ~$1.00 over the counter, even in tourist areas.

I have seen only disposible needles in the last decade. However, one should keep in mind that it takes time to build the immunities from the injections. M is a somewhat a judgement call although good for college age people especially. I recall it cost 100 USD for my son and the parents economized instead. Typhoid is available in the US as a pill and that is said to be better. Hep A would be excellent for India. But, remember the immunity lag time..

the idea is to take the vaccines before entering a foreign country. as said by dan/edward bulk of cost is usually anti-malarial.
you should think about Hep A/B (i'm forgetting if there is a vaccine for B, check with physician), Japanese E...., DPT (diptheria, polio, tetanus) and MMR (mumps, measles, rubella). typically you probably had DPT/MMR vaccines as a kid but you may need booster shots..

i'd be a bit cautious about taking anti-malarialls for 7 months...a lot of ppl complain about nasty side effects but then again, talk to your doctor for best advice.

happy travelling

pallav

http://purnea.ee.princeton.edu/~pgupta

Hep A/B can be taken as a combo. But it's taken over several months, three jabs, first two a month apart and then the last 5 or 6 months later.