Padang Travel Forum

Can anyone tell me if one would need any vaccinations when travelling to Sumatra? My son is heading off on a surfing safari & will spend only one day in Padang. Does he need to be taking maleria medication now, or have any injections?

Hi,

You best consult your doctor or your municipal health service. For only one day in Padang (where else does your son go?) the risk may be considered small. In general the following is recommended for Indonesia:
- DTP (diphteria, tetanus, polio). If your son has already been immunised with DTP, check if it is longer ago than 10 years. If so a booster is needed.
- Hepatitis A. This involves a series of two or three injections.
- Hepatitis B, for a longer stay (three injections).

Specifically Sumatra is considered a malaria area, so one should take some preventive medication (there are several kinds).
However, avoiding mosquite bites - wearing long sleeves and/or mosquito repellent - is the best prevention. One kind of mosquitoes carries dengue fever for which there is no preventive medication. Dengue mosquitoes bite during daytime, malaria mosquitoes from evening dusk through the night.

Hi,
If your son is going on a surfing safari- sounds like he may be going to the Mentawai Islands where malaria is prevalent.
See this site where a huge charity Surf Aid International is trying to educate the locals about malaria.
http://www.surfaidinternational.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekLPK4MOIsG&b=260342
It is best for him to see his local doctor and work out the best health care he needs for his surfing trip.
I myself for trips to Indonesia ( 8 trips in 11 yrs) have updated my tetanus ( only lasts for 10 yrs), have cholera and Thypoid together in one injection ( only lasts 3 yrs and the last 6 months is almost nil cover, already have immunity to HepA as a child- do not worry about Hep B but check with your doctor on this one.
Have not concerned myself with polio, but there was a resurgence of that disease about 2yrs ago, mainly affected young babies.
Again, best to consult with your doctor on what injections and what type of malaria pills are the best for this region.
Pamela.

And make sure he takes a good insect repellant because as Theo says different mosquitoes carry different diseases and bite at different times of the day.
If you are coming from Australia- RID is an excellent insect repellant product.
Pamela.