Typhoid Vaccine in Point Cook
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection spread mainly through food and water contaminated with faeces. A typhoid vaccine lowers the risk for travellers, and you can have it at Juniper Avenue Medical Centre in Point Cook after a GP has looked at where you are headed.
Where the risk is highest
According to the Australian Immunisation Handbook, the risk is considerably greater on trips to the Indian subcontinent than to other regions. High-incidence areas also include most Southeast Asian countries and several South Pacific nations, including Papua New Guinea.
People visiting friends and relatives deserve a special mention. Longer stays, home cooking and local water all add to exposure, and these trips are sometimes planned without a travel health visit at all. Smartraveller’s destination pages list health information for each country.
Injection or capsules: the two typhoid vaccines
There are two types, and the doctor will help you choose:
- Injection: a single dose, suitable from 2 years of age, and it can be given at the same visit as other travel vaccines.
- Oral capsules: a live vaccine for people 6 and older, taken as 1 capsule on days 1, 3 and 5 (with an optional fourth on day 7), each 1 hour before food. Four doses may give better protection than three.
- A combined hepatitis A and typhoid injection is an option from age 16 if you need both.
The capsules are not suitable for everyone. Some antibiotics and antimalarial medicines can stop the oral vaccine working, so tell the doctor about every medicine you are taking or about to start.
How long protection from the typhoid vaccine lasts
Protection does not last for life. If you keep travelling to risk areas, the Handbook recommends a repeat injection every 3 years, or a repeat capsule course 3 years after a 3-dose course or 5 years after a 4-dose course. Keep a record of the date so you know when you are due.
Why food and water care still counts
The vaccine does not prevent every case, and no vaccine specifically targets paratyphoid, a similar illness. Habits on the ground carry a lot of the load:
- drink bottled or boiled water and skip ice of unknown origin
- choose food that is freshly cooked and served steaming hot
- peel fruit yourself and avoid salads washed in tap water
- wash hands before eating and carry hand sanitiser
If you develop a fever that keeps climbing, stomach pain or ongoing diarrhoea during or after a trip, see a doctor promptly and say where you have been. For severe illness, call 000.
Side effects
Serious reactions to typhoid vaccines are very rare. When side effects happen they are usually mild and short-lived: a sore arm after the injection, for example.
Cost and booking
Typhoid vaccine is a travel vaccine and is generally bought privately rather than funded under the National Immunisation Program. The vaccine itself has a cost, and the consultation may too; check the fees page or ask reception. To book online, choose a time and mention the vaccine when you book.
Hepatitis A is spread the same way, so many people pair the two; see the hepatitis A and B page. The travel immunisation page explains the full pre-trip consultation.
Common questions
My trip is in two weeks. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Book in now and the doctor can work out what is still possible in the time left, including food and water advice that helps no matter when you fly.
Can I have the capsules if I am taking malaria tablets?
Some antimalarials and antibiotics can make the oral vaccine ineffective. The doctor will look at your full medicine list and may suggest the injection instead.
Do children need a typhoid vaccine?
Children aged 2 and over travelling to typhoid-endemic regions are recommended to have it. The injection is used for children under 6.