1300 42 11 42

To make an appointment with your nearest TMA clinic ring 1300 42 11 42, or click here.

Just when you thought you had the hang of hepatitis along comes hepatitis E. Of course it's not new but has become increasingly recognised as a problem in some parts of the world especially India, Nepal and Northern Africa. Like hepatitis A it causes an acute illness with general unwell, fever, nausea, fatigue, vomiting and you get to turn yellow [jaundiced]. Now most people bounce back after a couple of weeks and unlike hepatitis A, you can't give it to your friends and family however it's a holiday souvenir you could do without. Particularly in pregnant women, as about 15%-20% of them die from contracting hepatitis E.

This is a disease of poor sanitation where the water supply has been contaminated by sewerage. The is no vaccine for this disease so prevention involves strict care with water, and food tainted by that water. Use boiled or bottle water for drinking and cleaning your teeth, no ice and no opening you mouth when showering are the standard to aim for as well as making healthy food choices.

Oh ... I hadn't forgotten Hepatitis D but this is not really a problem for travellers, occurring in chronic hepatitis B carriers in complicated circumstances.

Malaria, dengue fever, Japanese Encephalitis were but a few of the more important issues discussed.

As the current vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis [a mosquito borne virus that can affect your brain and cause death and disability] is no longer made and the disease occurs on our door step [South East Asia] we were updated on the status of replacement vaccines due in the next few years. TMA clinics still have access to the current vaccine for certain travelers.

Distribution of Japanese Encephalitis 

Australians often take a perverse pride in telling foreign visitors about our dangerous creatures. Many an overseas tourist would have expected to see snakes in the streets and dorsal fins circling our beaches.

Now while it's true we have a collection of highly toxic snakes, that doesn't necessarily translate into a significant number of deaths from envenomation ... only about 2-3 fatalities per year. Enough you might say but this pales into insignificant compared with the 100,000 deaths a year in India and South east Asia. This is caused by big populations, lots of dangerous snakes and variable access to antivenom and health care.

So for the Aussie adventure traveler it is wise to keep this in mind ... most bites are accidental and can be avoided if the snake has a chance to avoid confrontation or contact. First aid involves pressure bandaging of the bitten area and immobilizing via splintage and [hopefully] bringing help to the victim.

Even non venomous bites carry a risk of tetanus so it's wise to update before travel especially for those going off the ‘beaten track '.

Box jelly fish are the scourge of our northern summers but according to Dr Peter Fenner from Mackay [world authority on these floating time bombs] they are not unique to our shores.

Papuan Taipan – very common around Port Moresby

Chironex fleckeri