Travel Vaccinations for Vietnam
Vietnam is a very popular tourist destination with over 3.3 million tourist a year and over 100,000 people from Britain. Based in South-east Asia, its neighbours are Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The table below provides a general guide as to the Travel Vaccinations that may be advised to you for travel to Vietnam.
|Vaccination||All Travellers||Most Travellers||Some Travellers||Major Risk|
|MMR||Yes||Person-to-Person||Measles, mumps, rubella, Course of Two||£50|
|DTaP||Yes||Person-to-Person||Tetanus, Diptheria, polio, Single Dose||£40|
|Typhoid||Yes||Contaminated Food and Water||Typhoid, single dose||£50|
|Hepatitis A||Yes||Contaminated Food and Water||Hepatitis A, Single Dose||£80|
|Cholera||Yes||Contaminated Food and Water||Cholera, for course of 2||£35|
|Hepatitis B||Yes||Body Fluids, Medical Intervention||Hepatitis B, Course of Three||£55|
|Japanese Encephalitis||Yes||Mosquitoes||Japanese encephalitis, Course of Two||£90|
|Rabies||Yes||Infected Animals||Rabies, Course of Three||£65|
Risk of Malaria in Vietnam
Malaria is a viral illness spread by Mosquitoes that bite from dusk to dawn throughout the tropical world. It causes high fever and severe joint and muscle pains. In serious cases, malaria can be fatal. For more information, see Malaria.
Travellers to areas where there is a Risk of Malaria should get advice regarding Malaria Medication which can be taken to help stop the illness from developing. The type of medication required depends on your destination, itinerary, length of stay and current medical condition. Further reduce the risk of by practising mosquito Bite Avoidance by using insect repellent such as DEET 50% and covering exposed skin by wearing long sleeves and trousers.
Yellow Fever Risk and Certification Requirements for Vietnam
Yellow Fever is a serious viral illness spread by mosquitoes in the tropical regions of Africa and South America. For further information, please see Yellow Fever Vaccination.
Additional Travel Health Risks for Vietnam
Vietnam is a largely Buddhist country and under communist rule. Due to the numerous Chinese attempts at invasion, the Chinese influence can be seen throughout Vietnam. Grab your bicycle and explore Vietnam – but don’t forget your all-important jabs before heading off.
Heat and Humidity
In Vietnam, there are different weather patterns depending on the area you travel to. You could face warm and dry, cool and dry or hot an wet and anything in between. Check the weather for the period you are travelling, as you will need to pack adequately and take reasonable precautions to avoid sunburn and heatstroke.
All over Vietnam you can get dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis from insects and bugs.There has recently been an increase in the incidences of reports of Dengue Fever throughout Vietnam. Take steps to avoid insect bites including wearing insect repellent such as DEET 50% and covering areas of exposed skin with long sleeves and trousers.
Street dogs, cats, bats and rodents are common throughout the cities and rural areas of Vietnam. If you get bitten or scratched by an animal you will need to get urgent medical attention. Animal bites expose you to a range of infections including rabies.
Between May to November tropical cyclones can affect the eastern costal areas of Vietnam. Follow local advice and evacuation orders should you get caught in a storm.
Parts of Vietnam are higher than 2500m, so depending on where you go, altitude sickness could be a problem. You can obtain altitude sickness medication and practice appropriate acclimatisation and gradual ascents to counter altitude sickness. Don’t forget, its not just your climbing altitude but your sleeping altitude as well that must be considered.
Food and Drink
Fresh and delicious food is abundant in Vietnam however beware of contaminated food from street vendors. There have been reports of a number of deaths due to people drinking wine with high levels of methanol. Avoid any wines without a recognised brand name or if you suspect that it may have been tampered with.
It is generally not recommended that you drink the tap water in Vietnam. Buy bottled water and use this for drinking and brushing your teeth. Some of the most common bottled water brands in the Vietnam are Aquafina, Vinh Hao and La Vie.
Make sure you have health insurance in place that will cover the full range of activities you plan to undertake while you are in Vietnam.
Petty crime such as bag snatching and pick pocketing is high in Vietnam, especially the big cities. Make sure you know the price of food before eating and always have a back up plan for returning to your abode should your tour vehicle ‘break down’.
Travellers to Vietnam can be exposed to the risk of Travellers Diarrhoea. Use alcohol gel, wash your hands regularly and monitor what you are putting in your mouth.
Useful Resources and Contacts for Vietnam
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): Travel Advice for Vietnam.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): British Consulate-General Ho Chi Minh City
British Council: British Council in Vietnam
British Consulate-General Ho Chi Minh City
25 Le Duan Street,
Ho Chi Minh City
Telephone+84 (0)8 3825 1380
In the Neighbourhood, Southeast Asia
If you are travelling further afield throughout Southeast Asia make sure you check out the vaccination injections that you need for every country that you are going to.