India | The Golden Triangle: which vaccines?

Monty and I recently returned from a brilliant tour of India’s Golden Triangle. India is a big country, geographically and culturally diverse. Before you go, make sure your routine vaccinations are up to date. Because Monty and I have travelled extensively over the years it has been necessary to have vaccines before entering different countries. If you have been vaccinated in the past, you may have some immunity. To be sure, Monty and I had blood tests to help us rule out some vaccines as they were still viable in our systems and providing immunity.

Vaccines – the main vaccines you should be considering:
Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine. If you have had this vaccine, you may still need a booster.
Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis vaccine. If it has been more than 10 years since you had this vaccine, you may need a booster.
Polio vaccine. Make sure your polio vaccination is up to date. If you had it as a child, it may be advisable to have an IPV vaccine dose.

Depending on where you are intending to travel, other vaccines to be considered are:
Cholera vaccine. Consider before having this vaccine if you have underlying medical conditions.
Hepatitis A vaccine. Hepatitis can be transmitted through water and food.
Hepatitis B vaccine. Transmitted through bodily fluids, Hepatitis B is considered routine for most tourists travelling to India.
Typhoid vaccine. Either injection or oral vaccine. India is high-risk when it comes to typhoid.
Malaria vaccine. Anti-malarial prescriptions are usually recommended; Doxycvcline to be taken prior to, during and after your trip.
Yellow Fever vaccine. Usually not required unless you are travelling to a location which has reported a recent outbreak of yellow fever.
Rabies vaccine. Rabies may be recommended based on your travel activities and destinations.

Tip: To avoid Traveller’s diarrhoea we took Travelan. It’s a clinically proven way to help prevent diarrhoea before it starts. Simply follow the directions on the box.

Take stock and be prepared – the vaccines aren’t budget friendly.
Chemist Warehouse, Brisbane (Oct 2024 prices):

Doxycyline Sandoz 100mg tablets 28 (4×7) $16.99 (multiple boxes required to cover your travel time)
Avaxim Hep A Vac 0.5ml x 1 $59.99
Dukoral Oral Cholera Vac (twin dose for one person) $114.99
Typhim VI 0.5ml PFS $62.99
Travelan 30 caplets $29.99

Other consideration: Drinking Water. We were on a tour which included complimentary sealed bottles of water, daily. When we were coaching around the Golden Triangle, we were also provided with an endless supply of drinking water. Do not, under any circumstance, drink water from a bottle if the seal is broken. Stick to well-known brands such as Bisleri Mineral Water. Watch out for counterfeits and check the spelling on the label. Wherever possible, purchase your water from supermarkets and you’ll be fine.

Prior to our departure from Australia, we visited Paddy Pallin (Fortitude Valley, Brisbane) and purchased two 1 litre plastic bottles (brand: Nalgene made in USA) and a couple of boxes of Micropur Forte tablets (to disinfect and purify our water as we knew we would need additional water to wash our teeth etc). We initially used our “Micropur Forte water” to clean our teeth and make cups of tea/coffee in our rooms but we soon realized we didn’t need our own supply as we had plenty of water provided by the hotels and during our travels. Tip: if you’re on a tour just buy bottled water if and as you need it.

Micropur Forte. Preserves water for up to 6 months. Effective against bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Contact time: 30 min for bacteria and viruses, 2 hr for Giardia in clear water. $54.95 for box of 100 tablets; 100 tablets makes 100 litres of purified water. Simply pop the tablet into the Naglene bottle. We bought a sustain narrow mouth 1 l bottle $29.95 ea. BPA/BPS free.

Highly recommend the bottle and water purifying tablets if you’re travelling in places where clean drinking water may be an issue.
And don’t have ice in your drinks no matter where you are!!!!

Good to know:
Pack hand sanitizer (antibacterial handwipes are easier to use than the gel/liquid form) and necessary when using toilets en route as many don’t have toilet paper or hand wash.

It’s a good idea to pack antibiotics, plus a script and a supply of Cold+Flu tablets. They’re cheaper in India than Australia but avoid handing in your scripts such as antibiotics at the airport pharmacies. Very expensive. Monty handed in his script for antibiotics at Delhi airport and also bought Cold+Flu tablets. Total cost AUD $170.
Buy them at a local pharmacy near your hotel. The same items will cost about AUD $18.00