Vaccines

He should get the hepatitis A and B shot. There's one called twinrix which delivers both vaccines in one shot. However, for full immunity, 3 shots are required over a 6 month period. There's no malaria in Jakarta, just dengue fever from the mosquitoes. But there's no vaccine for that. As for diarrhea, just bring some of the over-the-counter variety. If he's traveling alone it would be liberal to slip a few western sized condoms into his bag as well.

Hey tiler why would my "married" husband need condoms???

Indonesian gov't doesn't require any immunizations/vaccinations upon entrance into the country to my knowledge.

As of two years ago, CDC (Center for Disease Control) in USA recommended considering all of the following (Check-out their website for current recommendations. They monitor outbreaks of disease worldwide. They always err on the conservative side. Take it for what it's worth to you.):

diptheria/tentanus
polio
rabies (3 stages of injections)
hepatitis A (2 stages)
hepatitis B (2 stages)
Japanese Encephalitis (2 stages)

Regiment outlined above takes about a month to complete. You may want to add TB to that list as well if you haven't had it administered in several years. You'll be a walking anti-virus at that point!

J. Encephalitis is rare disease (contracted in hot, humid rainforest often times), but 25% mortality rate. Immunization cares risk of death as well- maybe 3 per 1,000,000. The vaccination may give you a touch of the flu. It's a heavy-hitter for sure.

If bitten by rabid animal, rabies treatment still required, but fewer injections (3 rather than 7) and of less painful variety. If bitten by human, all one can do is pray or see your local Dukun.

Malaria pills are good idea, obviously. According to the one genra of treatment I'm familiar with, one must start the regiment maybe three weeks before leaving country of origin. Maintenance after arriving in Indonesia is one tablet per week. Malaria can be treated after the fact, but that's not the way to go about it. Prevention is where it's at. It can be a miserable recovery process.

Indeed, Denque fever, or demam berdarah, is not presently treatable. You have to let it run its course. It's a common disease in Indonesia, and tends to have its season. I have known Indonesians who have died from it. It is a mosquito-born disease.

Not a bad idea to get polio vaccine if you haven't had it since childhood. It can't hurt. Diseases like polio and leprosy are still found in Indonesia.

Just being honest. I've lived in Jakarta for 6 years and seen what goes on. I would say over half of married expat men under the age of 60 and in Jakarta on their own, end up having a fling of some form or another with an Indonesian woman. It's probably not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. That said, STD's are one of a traveller's concerns regarding health in Jakarta.

that's a stupid thing to say, tiler. Like she's going to turn to her husband and say 'oh honey, in case you want to bang some locals, the TT'ers suggest you bring some condoms'.

On a one month business trip to Jakarta you're highly unlikely to be at risk from most of the diseases mentioned by MARINMAFIA.

Tetanus: It's always useful to keep your tetanus protection up to date, irrespective of where you live or travel.

Polio: While getting a polio booster is pretty easy there hasn't been a case of polio in Indonesia in nearly 4 years and that was in Sukabumi, a long way from Jakarta. The government also responded rapidly to that outbreak with a massive vaccination campaign which seems to have been very effective.

Rabies: Highly unlikely if you're spending your time going from hotel to office to restaurant to nightclub to hotel.

Hep A/B: Hep A is possible, even in the best restaurants. Hep B is unlikely if you're not sharing needles or having unprotected sex with sex workers.

Japanese Encephalitis: Pretty unlikely, the incidence is 50,000 cases a year across the entire Asian region according to WHO, a one in 60 or 70,000 chance of getting it if you spend a year there. You'd have a better chance of winning a lottery.

TB: Possible, but there's no reliable vaccine. Treatment with antibiotics is effective but prolonged - the symptoms are easily recognisable though so the risk is minor.

I've never heard of anyone getting malaria in Jakarta. Your biggest health risk here is undoubtedly dengue. There's not much you can do except wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants and use mosquito repellent when you're outside but take it seriously because it is the rainy season when the risk is higher.

However, having said that, MARINMAFIA is not really giving you the full picture - most people who die from dengue have not recognised and/or sought treatment for it and are usually on a second or third infection. The first time you get it you are not at serious risk if you rest and keep up your fluid intake with LOTS of water - some (Western) doctors here do not even feel the need to hospitalize people with it.

In short, a tetanus booster and Hep A shot would be adequate.

thanks for that info bonek, I originally sought out this thread for vacs for a trip to Bali.

No worries - note that this advice would not be the same for Bali. For example, Bali is currently dealing with an outbreak of rabies and several people have died in the last month or so. And the areas most affected are Jimbaran, Kuta and Denpasar - areas which are popular with foreigners.